has faithfully and punctually fulfilled) all the pofts which had been withholden for the purpose before fpecified; while, in return, he received what was deemed a perfect fecurity for the debts due from the Americans to his fubjects; viz. the foleinn, abfolute, and uncondi tional, ftipulation, on the part of the United States, that mutual Commiffioners, or the majority of them, fhould make an award; and their award be in all cafes, final, conclufive, and binding on the faid States." (To be continued.) TO CORRESPONDENTS. The interefting Speech of the Earl of Pembroke to Oliver Cromwell, in 1649, from an original MS. tranfmitted by a respected Friend, was intended for insertion in this Number, but fhall certainly appear in our next. We have it in contemplation, effectually to remove the ground of A. B. C.'s complaint, though we cannot imitate the conduct of a con temporary Critic, and review Ninteeen Volumes, in two pages G. T.'s Communication is thankfully received, and fhall appear very foon. Most of the errors, we believe all, noticed by H―n, were corrected in our last lift of Errata. We fully admit the juftice of this Correfpondent's remarks; and have taken every means in our power to prevent the neceffity of their repetition. "A Conftant Reader" is meant for early infertion. We are much obliged to "Verus" for his Anecdote, which shall certainly not be loft to the public. The Letter from our worthy Correfpondent at Teflon fhall appear as foon as poffible ;-G. S. F, and "Miso-Satanas" fhall have placein our next. : "D." and "Noftrum" are received ;-I. I. P.'s request shall be attended to. ANTI-JACOBIN Review and Magazine; &c. &c. &c. For APRIL, 1800. "Quantum literarum cultus ac patrocinium, quantum earum ig noratio odiumque ad virtutes aut ad vitia conformant; quicquid ubique gentium confuetudines populorum, inftituta nationum, regionum ingenia, ritus, natura præcipiunt aut vetant; tantum Critico peryeftigandum, tenendum, ufurpandum eft." STRADA. ORIGINAL CRITICISM. ART. I. Lucretii Cari de rerum Natura, libros Sex, &c. &c. &c. Ti% (Continued from r. 258.) "O difcriminate thofe various fyftems of the Grecian phi-. lofophy, which were ftudied at Rome in the age of Lucretius, or to particularize the tenets of Epicurus, which are known to have been adopted by our poet, would, here, be an unneceffary task. The doctrines of Epicurus, addreffed as they were to the fenfes and the paffions, were more peculiarly alJuring. A great majority of the Roman youth (who were yet, unable, it seems, to blend mental with corporeal énjoyment,) had imbibed the inftructions of the Grecian voluptuary: and Lucretius, the contemporary of Cicero, and the friend of Atticus, was not lefs a lover of tranquillity and pleasure in practice than in theory. Lucretius had been educated at Athens, and had there acquired the language and the philofophy of Greece. The language was copious and accommodating and the philosophy could fcarcely be expreffed with full effect in any other tongue. To the Roman tongue, comparatively poor and inflexible, the NO, XXII, VOL, V. Hh terms terms of science were new and ill-adapted. Hence, in the compofition of his poem, we often find Lucretius ftruggling for words or phrafes, "propter ageftatem linguæ," and even Cicero, in all the plenitude of eloquence, recurring to the Greek, where he felt the deficiency of the Latin, its inadequacy to the expreffion of philofophic fentiment, and its meannefs in comparison with his vaft conceptions. Yet, under thefe difcouraging circumftances, Lucretius was furprizingly happy in his diction. If, from the unpolished ftate of the language, and its feeming unfriendliness to the genius of fcience, his numbers be, in general, rude or unmufical, we often admire the grandeur of his phrafeology, are fometimes gratified by the felicities of his expreffion, and now and then are charmed with the melodiousness of his verse. For the fubject of the poem, we could with that Lucretius had not difgraced a great deal of beautiful poetry and refined fentiment, by the impious doctrines of the Epicureans. In thofe places, indeed, where he inveighs against religion, his cenfures are juft, if applied to the only popular religion' with which he was acquainted; and, in the hands of an ingenious tranflator, might be turned, with good effect, against the idolatry and fuperftition of the gentile world. The teftimonies of the ancients in favour of Lucretius are ample and fatisfactory. Cicero, Cornelius Nepos, Vitruvius, Ovid, Propertius, Paterculus, Seneca, Pliny, Quintilian, Tacitus, Statius, &c, who unite in the praises of our poet, are fome of the most celebrated authors of claffic antiquity. We know also, that Virgil read and imitated various parts of the poem: and many of the moderns have adopted its ftyle and manner on philofophical fubjects.* Of * We are acquainted with one or two excellent Lucretian poems, to which the Chancellor's prize was adjudged, a few years ago, at the University of Oxford; we allude to Lord Grenville's Poem on Cooke, and Mr. Sawkins's on Botany. We happen to poffefs the latter poem in MS., from which we shall extra a few paffages for the amufement of our readers. "Quam variæ herbarum fpecies, quo gramina pacto Et virides faltus, et picti ruris honores Expediam verfu---poffim modo pauca tenere Ipfe etiam, et rerum gravitatem æquare monendo. * * * * * * Hine rident variis tibi prata coloribus, illinc * * Ergo Of fuch a poem, it is natural to enquire after the editions, if not to examine the comparative merit of the editors. The first edition of Lucretius is faid to have been printed at Brefcia, but without the date of the year: this edition Mr, Wakefield had never an opportunity of feeing. The fecond edition, commonly reputed the firft, was printed at Verona in 1486; for the loan of which our Editor was obliged to Mr. Cracherode. That by John Baptift Pius, printed at Bologna in 1511, and the Juntine and Aldine impreffions, of 1512 and 1515, were employed by Mr. W. with advantage. The editions of Gifanius, Creech, and Havercamp next occur, but cannot be particularly noticed in this place: We have leifure only to mention the copy of Le Fevre's Lucretius, which was once in the poffeffion of Bentley, and is' illuftrated by the notes of that illuftrious Critic-a MS. formerly Dr. Afkew's, now in the public library at Cambridge. Three MSS. in the British Museum, two of the fifteenth Century, and a third of a later date a MS. furnished by Mr. Edward Poore, and various readings from MSS. at Vienna, of the fourteenth and fifteenth Centuries, published by F. C. Alter, at the end of his edition of Lucretius, Vienna, 1767. The various editors of Lucretius would all, probably, be fuperfeded by the truly claffic Wakefield, and doomed to fleep, for ever, in oblivion, if the Muses and Plutus were not, unhappily, at variance. Ergo ubi jam verni foles et mollior æther, Ne te cura domi dubitantem aliena moretur. Quin et fronde novâ et viridanti gramine leætos Attentis luftres oculis, ufuque frequenti Occultas rerum leges et fædera noris. Tum porro certà conftat ratione creari Nec nihil intererit, maturos nofcere fructus: Hh 2 With 1 With Mr. Wakefield's account of his author, and his own critical labours, we fhall clofe the prefent article. "Valde laboravi in orthographia textus Lucretiani conftituenda; ut agxaimin nitorem illum, ac florem ferrugineum venerandæ vetustatis, importunis correctorum manibus paffim deterfum, in quantum fana grammaticorum prifcorum judicia et fubinde codicum auctoritas fuffragarentur, redaccenderem." "Hunc ex abundanti fructum col. latione proveniffe mihi vehementer gratulor, quod hinc complufculis ulceribus VIRGILII, fanitatis fpeciem mentientibus, ideoque difficili et periculofa tractatione, medelam efficaciffimam admovere quiverim." "Jam vero, prius libet breviffime difquirere, quam huic præfatione finem ponam, utrum Lucretius nofter alia ingenii monumenta quæpiam literis mandaverit, quæ in hoc avum non perduravere. Certe, eum in animo habuiffe de fitu et qualitate fedium fan&tarum, quas numina deorum tenent, de tenuiffimâ itidem ipforum naturâ, prorfus intactili, nec admittente tactum utique, nec viciffim exercente; non perfunctorie differere, fuo ipfius etiam teftimonio liquidiffime colligitur, in lib. V. verf. 147-158, quum argumentorum propofitorum feriem qui fequitur, verfus claudat : Quæ tibi pofterius largo fermone probabo." Sed enim an abfolverit promiffum et ingens opus, quantivis eftimandum pretii, ruinæ temporum opprefferint; an concilium mutaverit; an rurfus id agentem mors intercluferit acerba nullus equidem de plano affirmaverim. Commentaria fane ferviana, ad Virgil. Æn. vi. 596. Sufpicionem injiciunt haud levem, hos etiam, quibus fruimur, libros fex de natura rerum aliquâ tenus imperfectos ad ætatem noftram defcendiffe. "Aliud carmen, Lucretio reli&tum, olim exftitiffe, Varronis teftimonio faltem probabile efficitur; cujus verba, prout leguntur in lib. iv. fect. 3, de ling. Lat. non pigebit adfcripfiffe: A quâ bipartitâ divifione, Lucretius fuorum unius et viginti librorum initium fecit hoc : • Ætheris et terræ genîtabile quærere tempus.' Si fanus fit hic grammatica locus, nec nomini proprio fcripturæ vitium infideat; quâ voce, quo fletu, tantum literarum infortunium, nullis artibus medicabile, lugebimus? Tempus! vaftator omnium, tibi profecto felix, nimium felix, vifus eft mufarum chorus, hæc fi dona propria fuiffent; nam Lucretium meum, vel ingenii viribus, vel elegantiâ doctrinæ, cuivis veterum fortitur oppofuerim : Quis eft crudelior in nos Te Deus? Ut femper gaudes illudere rebus Humanis ?" At the conclufion of this elegant Preface, Mr. W. tells us, that the first volume of the work was first sent into the world' as a precurfor, to make an experiment of the public opinion. The public opinion has, unquestionably, proved favourable to the undertaking: and the volumes, celebrated as they are through Europe, will not, we think, be condemned, with many a ponderous book, to be entombed in a warehouse. (To be Concluded in our next.) ART. |