26 JULY 1884, Page 15

MR. CHEYNE'S VERSION OF THE PSALMS.

[To TUE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,--21 propos of your admirable critique last week of a new translation of the Psalms, might I venture to add, with refer- ence to Psalm i., v. 1, another reason for the retention of " seat "? The law of parallelism, which obtains so largely in Holy Writ, is apt to be ignored or forgotten ; and the beauty of this law is specially noticeable in that verse, and would be lost by the sub- stitution of the word "company." For it contains a wondrous epitome of a bad man's career in evil, and is at once obvious when the triple climax of each clause is written thus :—

Walketh — counsel — ungodly.

Standeth — way — sinners.

Sitteth — seat -- scornful.

I say nothing on the score of terseness or raciness of expres-