teemed an original and model of perfection in that way of writing. Both in that excellent poem, and the noble hymn upon Caftor and Pollux, he has praifed his gods and his hero with that delicacy and dexterity of addrefs, with thofe fublime and graceful expreflions of devotion and refpect, that in politenefs, fmoothness of turn, and a refined art of praifing without of fence, or appearance of flattery, he has equalled Callimachus; and in loftinefs and flight of thought, fcarce yields to Pindar or Homer. Blackwall. $144. On HERODOTUS. Herodotus had gained experience by travelling over all his own country, Thrace, and Scythia; he travelled likewife to Arabia, Paleftine, and Egypt; where he carefully viewed the chief curiofities and moft remarkable places, and converfed with the Egyptian priefts, who informed him of their ancient hiftory, and acquainted him with their cuftoms, facred and civil. Indeed he fpeaks of their religious rites with fuch poffible) which he could any place in Italy; lays a fiege, draws up an army, with skill and conduct fcarce inferior to Cæfar himfelf. Was there as much charm in the converfation of this extraordinary man, as there is in his writings, the gentleman of Cales would not repent of his long journey, who came from thence only to fee Livy, upon the fame of his incomparable eloquence, and other celebrated abilities; and we have reafon to believe he received fatisfaction, becaufe, after he had feen Livy, and converfed with him, he had no curiofity to fee Rome, to which he was fo near; and which at that time was, for its magnificence and glories, one of the greatest wonders of the whole earth. These two princes of Greek and Roman hiftory-tell a story, and make up a defcription, with inexpreffible grace; and fo delicately mix the great and little circumftances, that there is both the utmost dignity and pleasure in it. Ibid. plainnefs and clearnefs in fome cafes, and § 146. Much of their Beauty arifes from fuch referve and reverence in others, that I am apt to believe he was initiated into their ceremonies, and confecrated a priest of fome of their orders *. Thus, being acquainted with the most famous countries, and valuable things, and knowing the moft confiderable perions of the age, he applied himfelf to write the hiftory of the Greeks and Barbarians: and performed the noble work with that judgment, faithfulness, and eloquence, that gained him the approbation and applaufe of the moft auguft affembly in the world at that time, the flower of all Greece, met together at the Olympic games. His history opens to the reader all the antiquities of Greece, and gives light to all her authors. $145. On LIVY. Ibid. We do not find that Livy had travelled much, or been employed in military affairs; yet what he might want in experience, was happily fupplied by wonderful parts and eloquence, by fevere ftudy, and unwearied endeavours after knowledge and information; fo that he defcribes all the countries, towns, feas, and ports, whither the Roman legions and navies came, with near the fame accuracy and perfection (if *See Herodot. Gale's Edition, lib. ii. fect. 3. p. 91. fec. 65. p. 114. føct. 171. p. 156. Variety. The reader is always entertained with an agreeable variety, both of matter and ftyle, in Herodotus and Livy. And indeed every author that expects to please, mut gratify the reader with variety: that is the univerfal charm, which takes with people of all taftes and complexions. 'Tis an ap petite planted in us by the Author of our being; and is natural to an human foul, whofe immenfe defires nothing but an infinite good, and unexhausted pleasure, can fully gratify. The moft palatable dish becomes naufeous, if it be always fet before a man: the moft mufical and harmonious notes, too often and unfeaionably ftruck, grate the ear like the jarring of the moft harth and hateful discord. Thefe authors, and the reft of their fpirit and elevation, were fenfible of this; and therefore you find a continual change, and judicious variation, in their style and numbers, One paffage appears to be learned, and carefully laboured; an unfludied eatinels, and becoming negligence, runs through the next. One fentence turns quick and fhort; and another, immediately following, runs into longer measures, and fpreads itfelf with a fort of elegant and beautiful luxuriancy. They feldom ufe many periods together, confifting of the fame number of members; nor are the members of their pe Hods of equal length, and exact measure, one with another. The reflections that are made by these noble writers, upon the conduct and humours of mankind, the interefts of courts, and the intrigues of parties, are fo curious and inftructive, fo true in their fubftance, and fo taking and lively in the manner of their expreffion, that they fatisfy the foundet judgment, and please the most sprightly imagination. From thefe glorious authors we have inflruction without the common formality and drynefs of precept; and receive the most edifying advice in the pleafing way of infinuation and furprize, Blackwall. $148. On CICERO. If among the Latin Claffics we name Tully, upon every fubject he equally fhews the ftrength of his reafon, and the brightness of his ftyle. Whether he addreffes his friend in the moft graceful neg ligence of a familiar letter, or moves his auditors with laboured periods, and paffionate ftrains of manly oratory; whether he proves the Majesty of God, and immortality of human fouls, in a more fublime and pompous eloquence; or lays down the rules of prudence and virtue, in a more calm and even way of writing; he always expreffes good fenfe in pure and proper language: he is learned and eafy, 147. Perfpicuity a principal Beauty of the richly plain, and neat without affectation. Claffics. Another excellency of the true claffics is, perfpicuity, and clear ftyle; which will excafe and cover feveral faults in an author; but the want of it is never to be atoned by any pretence of loftinefs, caution, or any confideration whatever. And this is the effect of a clear head, and vigorous understanding; of clofe and regular thinking, and the diligence of felect reading. A man fhould write with the fame defign as he speaks, to be understood with ease and to communicate his mind with pleasure and inftruction. If we felect Xenophon out of the other Greek claffics, whether he writes of the management of family affairs, or the more arduous matters of ftate and policy; whether he gives an account of the wars of the Grecians, or the morals of Socrates; the ftyle, though fo far varied as to be fuitable to every subject, yet is always clear and fignificant, fweet without lufcioufnefs, and elegantly cafy. In this genteel author we have all the politeness of a studied compofition; and yet all the freedom and winning familiarity of elegant converfation. of a Here I cannot but particularly mention Xenophon's Sympofium, wherein he has given us an eafy and beautiful defcription a very lively and beautiful converfation. The pleafant and ferious are there fo hap pily mixed and tempered, that the discourse is neither too light for the grave, nor too folemn for the gay. There is mirth with dignity and decorum; and philofophy at tended and enlivened by all the graces. Ibid. He is always copious, but never runs into a faulty luxuriance, nor tires his reader: and though he fays almost every thing that can be faid upon his subject, yet you will fcarce ever think he fays too much. Ibid. § 149. On the Obfcurities in the Claffics. Thofe few obfcurities which are in the beft authors, do not proceed from haste and confufion of thought, or ambiguous expreffions, from a long crowd of parenthefes, or perplexed periods; but either the places continue the fame as they were in only by reafon of our ignorance of fome the original, and are not intelligible to us cuftoms of thofe times and countries; or the paffages are altered and fpoiled by the prefumption and bufy impertinence of foolish tranfcribers and conceited critics. we have had more accurate accounts of the Which plainly appears from this, that fince Greek and Roman antiquities, and old manufcripts have been fearched and compared by able and diligent hands, innumerable errors have been rectified, and corruptions, which had crept into the text, covered, the removal of a veríe, or a point purged out: a various reading happily dif of diftinction out of the wrong into the right place, or the adding a fmall mark where it was left out, has given clear light to many paffages, which for ages had lain overspread with an error, that had obfcured the fenfe of the author, and quite confounded all the commentators. The latter part of the thirty-fecond verse of in the first editions thus, Tis av &gea Parson the hymn of Callimachus on Apollo was dido;" who can fing of Phoebus in the mountains" which was neither fenfe of itfelf, nor had any connection with what went before. But Stephens's amendment A a 4 of of it fet right both the fenfe and the connection, without altering a letter; Tí; äv & pha Dot Cor deídos; "Phoebus is an unexhaufted fubject of praife:"-among all his glorious qualifications and exploits, what poet can be fo dull, what wit fo barren, as to want materials for an hymn to his honour?-In the fourth verfe of the eleventh epigram of Theocritus, there wanted a little point in the word reférns, which took off all the fprightlinefs and turn of the thought; which Daniel Heinfius luckily restored, by changing the nom. fing. része, into the dat. plur. buvolérns." "The friends of Eufthenes the poet gave him, though a ftranger, an honourable burial in a foreign country; and the poet was extremely beloved by 'em." How flat and infipid! According to the amendment it runs thus "The acquaintance of Euthenes buried him honourably, though in a foreign country, and he was extremely beloved by his brother poets themselves." For a man to be mightily honoured by strangers, and extremely beloved by people of the fame profeffion, who are apt to malign and envy one another, is a very high commendation of his candour, and excellent temper. That very valuable amendment in the fixth line of Horace's preface to his odes, has cleared a difficulty, which none of the critics could handfomely acquit themselves of before the admirable Dr. Bentley; and has refcued the poet, eminent for the clearnefs of his style, from the imputation of harshness and obfcurity in the very beginning, and first address to his reader; where peculiar care and accuracy are expected. It would be endlefs to mention the numerous places in the ancients happily restored and illuftrated by that great man; who is not only a found and difcerning critic, but a clean and vigorous writer, excellently fkilled in all divine and human literature; to whom all scholars are obliged for his learned performances upon the claffics; and all mankind for his noble and glorious defence of religion. The learned Meurfius was ftrangely puzzled with a paffage in Minutius Felix*; and altered the text with fuch intolerable boldness, as, if allowed, would foon pervert and destroy all good authors; which the ingenious editor of that father has cleared, by putting the points of diftinction in their proper places. Reges tantum regni fui, per officia miniftrorum, univerja novére. Meurfius had difguifed • Min. Felix, Camb. edit. by Davis, § 33 p. 163. Fol. 7. and deformed the paffage thus: Reges fa tum regni fui per officia miniftrorum diverfa novére. Dr. Bentley has made a certain emendation in Horace's Art of Poetry, only by altering the places of two lines, making that which was the forty-fixth in the common books, the forty-fifth in his own beautiful editions. Blackwall. 150. On feveral Advantages which the Claffics enjoyed. chief claffics enjoyed, that most of them It was among the advantages which the circumstances of life, raised above anxi were placed in profperous and plentiful ous cares, want, and abject dependance. They were perfons of quality and fortune, courtiers and statefinen, great travellers, and generals of armies, poffeffed of the highest dignities and pofts of peace and war. Their riches and plenty furnished them with leifure and means of ftudy; and their and experience. How livelily muft they employments improved them in knowledge defcribe thofe countries, and remarkable places, which they had attentively viewed with their own eyes! What faithful and emphatical relations were they enabled to make of thofe councils, in which they prefided; of thofe actions in which they were prefent and commanded ! Herodotus, the father of hiftory, befides the advantages of his travels and general knowledge, was fo confiderable in power and intereft, that he bore a chief part in expelling the tyrant Lygdamis, who had ufurped upon the liberties of his native led their armics; and in ftrength of parts, Sophocles bore great offices in Athens; and nobleness of thought and expreffion, who by his commanding wisdom and elowas not unequal to his colleague Pericles; quence influenced all Greece, and was faid to thunder and lighten in his harangues. Attic ftyle, and his power in moving the Euripides, famous for the purity of the paflions, efpecially the fofter ones of grief entertained in, the court of Archelaus and pity, was invited to, and generously king of Macedon. The fmoothnefs of his compofition, his excellency in dramatic poetry, the foundness of his morals, conveyed in the fweeteft numbers, were fo univerfally admired, and his glory fo far fpread, that the Athenians, who were taken prifoners in the fatal overthrow under Nicias, were preferved from perpetual exile and ruin, by the astonishing refpect that the Sicilians, enemies and frangers, paid to the wit and fame of their illuftrious countryman. As many as could repeat any of Euripides's verfes, were rewarded with their liberty, and generously sent home with marks of honour. Plato, by his father's fide, fprung from Codrus, the celebrated king of Athens; and by his mother's from Solon, their no lefs celebrated law-giver. To gain experience, and enlarge his knowledge, he travelled into Italy, Sicily, and Egypt. He was courted and honoured by the greatest men of the age wherein he lived; and will be ftudied and admired by men of tafte and judgment in all fucceeding ages. In his works, are ineftimable treatures of the best learning. In short, as a learned gentleman fays, he writ with all the strength of human reafon, and all the charm of human eloquence. Anacreon lived familiarly with Polycrates king of Samos; and his fprightly mufe, naturally flowing with innumerable pleafures and graces, muft improve in delicacy and fweetnefs by the gaiety and refined converfation of that flourishing court. The bold and exalted genius of Pindar was encouraged and heightened by the honours he received from the champions and princes of his age; and his converfation with the heroes qualified him to fing their praifes with more advantage. The conquerors at the Olympic games fcarce valued their garlands of honour, and wreaths of victory, if they were not crowned with his never-fading laurels, and immortalized by his celeftial fong. The noble Hiero of Syracufe was his generous friend and patron; and the most powerful and polite ftate of all Greece esteemed a line of his in praife of their glorious city, worth public acknowledgments, and a ftatue. Most of the genuine and valuable Latin Claffics had the fame advantages of fortune, and improving converfation, the fame encouragements with thefe and the other celebrated Grecians. Terence gained fuch a wonderful infight into the characters and manners of mankind, fuch an elegant choice of words, and fluency of ftyle, fuch judgment in the con- His ene Salluft, fo famous for his neat expreffive brevity and quick turns, for truth of fact and clearness of ftyle, for the accuracy of his characters, and his piercing view into the mysteries of policy and motives of action, cultivated his rich abilities, and made his acquired learning fo ufeful to the world, and to honourable to himself, by bearing the chief offices in the Roman government, and fharing in the important councils and debates of the fenate." Cæfar had a prodigious wit, and univerfal learning; was noble by birth, a confummate flatefman, a brave and wife general, and a moft heroic prince. His prudence and modefty in fpeaking of himielf, the truth and clearness of his defcriptions, the inimitable purity and perfpicuity of his ftyle, diflinguish him with advantage from all other writers. None bears a nearer refemblance to him in more inftances than the admirable Xenophon. What ufeful and entertaining accounts might reafon bly be expected from fuch a writer, who gives you the geography and hiftory of thofe countries and nations, which he himself conquered, and the defcription of thofe military engines, bridges, and encampments, which he himself contrived and marked out! The beft authors in the reign of Auguftus, as Horace, Virgil, Tibullus, Propertius, &c. enjoyed happy times, and plentiful circumstances. That was the golden age of learning. They flourished under the favours and bounty of the richeft and moft generous court in the world; *See Prologue to Adelphi, v. 15-22. and and the beams of majefty fhone bright and propitious on them What could be too great to expect from fuch poets as Horace and Virgil, beloved and munificently encouraged by fuch patrons as Mæcenas and Auguftus? A chief reason why Tacitus writes with fuch skill and authority, that he makes fuch deep fearches into the nature of things, and defigns of men, that he fo exquifitely understands the fecrets and intrigues of courts, was, that he himself was admitted into the highest places of truft, and employed in the most public and important affairs. The ftatefman brightens the fcholar, and the conful improves and elevates the hiftorian, Blackwall. $151, On the Care of the Ancients in Selecting Numbers. The Ancients are peculiarly to be admired for their care and happy exactness in felecting out the noblest and most valuable numbers, upon which the force and pleafantnefs of ftyle principally depend. A difcourfe, confifting moft of the strongeft numbers, and beft fort of feet, fuch as the Dactyl, Spondee, Anapeft, Molofs, Cretic, &c. regularly compacted, ftands firm and fteady, and founds magnificent and agreeable to a judicious ear. But a difcourfe made up of the weakest numbers, and the worst fort of feet, fuch as the Pyrrhichee, Choree, Trochee, &c. is loofe and languid, and not capable with fuch advantage to exprefs manly fenfe. It cannot be pronounced with eafe, nor heard with patience. The periods of the claffics are generally compofed of the major part of the nobleft numbers; and when they are forced to ufe weaker and worfe-found. ing feet and measures, they fo carefully temper and ftrengthen them with firm and nervous fyllables on both fides, that the imperfection is covered, and the dignity of the fentence preferved and supported. Ibid. the charms of joy and gaiety, they avoid difagreeable elifions; do not make the difcourse harth by joining mutes and coupling letters, that, being united, make a dif tafteful and grating found. But by the choice of the beft vowels, and the sweeteft half-vowels, the whole compofition is made fmooth and delicate; and glides with eafinefs and pleasure through the ear. In defcribing of a thing or perfon full of terror, ruggedness, or deformity, they use the worft-founding vowels; and encumber the fyllables with mutes of the roughest and moft difficult pronunciation. The rushing of land-floods, the roaring of huge waters, and the dafhing of waves against the fhores, is imitated by words that make a vaft and boisterous found, and rudely clash together. The great Plato, who had a genius for all manner of learning, was difcouraged from poetry by reading that verfe in Homer, which fo wonderfully exprefies the roaring of the billows: Ηἰίνες βοίωσιν ἐξευγομένης ἀλὸς ἔξω". Hafte and swiftnefs are figured by short fyllables, by quick and rapid numbers; flowness, gravity, &c. by long fyllables, and numbers ftrong and folemn. I fhall produce fome inftances, and speak to them juft as they come into my thoughts, without any nicety of method. Virgil, in his account of the fufferings of wicked fouls in the regions of punithment, fills the reader with dread and amazement: every fyllable founds terror; awe and aftonishment accompany his majestic numbers. In that paffaget, -Tum fæva fonare Verbera, tum ftridor ferri, tractaque cateng. the hiffing letter repeated with broad found. ing vowels immediately following the force and roughness of the caninę letter fo often used, and thofe ftrong fyllables in the fecond, third, and fourth places, emphatically exprefs thofe dreadful founds. A man of any ear will, upon the repetition of them, be apt to fancy he hears the crack of the furies whips, and the rattling and clank of infernal chains. Thofe harth elifions, and heavy robuft fyllables, in that defcription of the hideous Cyclops, Mon ftrum horrendum, informe, ingens, naturally exprefs the enormous bulk and brutish *Iliad 17. v. 265. † Æneid 6. v, 558, &c. fierceness, |