and fecured their own afcendancy. What toleration Proteftants would then have to expect, may be collected from the example of other Catholic countries, and from the hiftory of our own. They, then, who encourage them to entertain hopes of fuccefs in future applications of a fimilar na ture, and who ftimulate them to perfeverance in their efforts to obtain it, facrifice the peace and tranquillity of the empire to a felfish and degrading fpirit of party. Thank Heaven! we are bleffed with a Sovereign, who has understanding to appreciate his duty, and refolution to difcharge it; and fully perfuaded we are, that we fhall never have the misfortune to fee the crown of Britain on the head of any Prince, capable of departing from those principles which placed his family on the throne. In conclufion, we repeat, that we have no enmity whatever to our Romish fellow-fubjects; let them live peaceably and quietly; grateful for the indulgence which they have received, and for the toleration which they enjoy; true to their king, and obedient to the laws; and, far from molefting them in the free exercise of their religion, our best wishes for their happiness, welfare, and prosperity fhall attend them. SIR, You Illustrations of a passage in Virgil. TO THE EDITOR. YOU fometimes give admiffion to "illuftrations" of claffical paffages, prefented by correfpondents, who doubtlefs are not a little flattered by your acceptance of their free will-offerings. Like them, ambitious of becoming one of your tributaries, I beg leave to fubmit the following to your inspection, in the hope of its finding favour in your eyes, and obtaining a place in your excellent work. Burke's, Letter, on the Duke of Bedford's attack, has been very aptly denominated an informatum fulmen, by the author of the Purfuits of Literature, who fays that he cannot defcribe the whole compofition better than in the words of that Poet, who would have been proud to record the workmanfhip of EDMUND BURKE." Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquofæ, Burke himself, in a work of much earlier date, has quoted this paffage of Virgil, which he thought " admirably fublime;" but he fays, at the fame time, that" if we attend cooly to the kind of fenfible images, which a combination of ideas of this fort must form, the chimeras of madmen cannot appear more wild and abfurd than such a picture." He then gives the following as a literal tranflation-" Three rays of twifted fhower, three of a watery cloud, three of fire, and three of the winged Southwind; then mixed they in the work terrific lightnings, and found, and fear, and anger, with purfuing flames." He remarks of this "ftrange compofition," that it is "Formed into a grofs body, hammered by the Cyclops, in part polished, and partly continues rough." His object here was to exemplify the power of words to produce their intended effect, without NO LXXXVII. VOL. XXII. H raifing raifing any distinct images in the mind; and he fays that" if poetry gives us a noble affemblage of words, correfponding to many noble ideas, which are connected by circumstances of time or place, or related to each other by caufe and effect, or affociated in any natural way, they may be moulded together in any form, and perfectly answer their end " Now" Jove's dread thunder-bolts," we know, were anciently reprefented as confifting of twelve zig-zag rays, proceeding from a center, and terminating as it were in a circle-an imaginary combination of fuch rays as are in fact often feen fingly darting through the clouds, -Tonitru cum rupta corufco Ignea rima micans percurrit lumine nimbos and this phenomenon is ufually connected both in time and place," with a fiery redness in the sky, followed by fudden gufts of wind, with heavy fpowers of rain, or forms of hail. In this view there is an evident propriety in the expreffion, nubis aquofe, a cloud, not of light floating vapour, but black, and rapidly condensing into water, ready to fall in torrents of rain. The fame natural affociation" is there in the phrafes, ignis rutili and alitis auftri; but what fhall we fay of imbris torti, a twisted shower! Why, that Vigil's meaning has been ftrangely mistaken by Mr. Burke. who cannot have been ignorant that torquere fignifies to hurl as well as to twift; and had he adverted to this, he must have perceived in imbris tort, not a twisted but a missile shower, that is a shower of hail; and thus his obfervation would have been fairly applicable to the whole paffage, as it ftands in the original, though fcarcely to any part of that paraphrafe which he, with feeming approbation, has quoted from Pitt's translation. Three points of rain, three forks of hail confpire, Three arm'd with wind, and three were barb'd with fire. Fear, wrath, and terror, and the lightning's blaze." Here indeed we have imbris torti righty diftinguifhed from nubis aquofa: but infead of Virgil's rays, which he is fuppofed to have copied from ancient marbles, we have three points of one fort, three forks of another, three of a third fort (whether points or forks does not appear) armed with wind, and three barbed with fire, and this combination of points and forks is tempered thick with livid rays, &c.! Words that, furely, when thus combined, do not correfpond to any noble ideas" nor indeea to any ideas what ever. Among the tempering ingredients, for metum we have both fear and terror, but nothing for flammis fequacibus, by which Virgil, I fufpect, intended to fuggeft the idea of that deftructive flame, which is often kindled by lightning and follows it, as a natural effect, but is at the fame time indicative of wrath which here couples with it. ! After minutely diff&ting this tranflation, fhall I venture to offer one of my own, and take the chance of being, in like manner, cut up in my turn? If I am, I hope to fee-"What, after you are cut up?-Oh yes, we minor critics are immortal-I hope to fee either a better tranflation, or one that may afford me another fubject of diffection. Three rays of hail they blend with three of rain, Of reddening æther, and the driving blaft, All deep in-wrought with awful gleams, and noise, And fear, and wrath, and fierce vindictive flame.-URANOPTÉS. EPIGRAMS. SIR, TO THE EDITOR. HE anxiety of the Rev. J. Riland's friends makes the following queries Did not his elder brother once find it neceffary to dismiss him from the curacy of Sutton Coldfield ? Did he not for a time become the difciple of the author of Thelypthora? Did he not make and obtain a demand of thirty-fix pounds for dilapidations of his brother's reprefentatives, after that brother by will had given him the next presentation to the living of Sutton, now worth 800l. per annum. Was he not fruftrated in a mean attempt to cut down the ornamental trees near the Rectory House? Has he not disfigured thofe trees which he was prevented from cutting down?. POETRY. The Reviewers Impromptu on reading a certain Motto from Juvenal Go angry zealot, boast with honest pride, EPIGRAMS. PENSIONERS*. WHY at penfioners rail, while the patriot Charles For two thousand a year at our Government fnarls? Of the Papifts to judge-as they never can vary, We should turn to the reign of the bloody Queen Mary. When in pow'r they were fiends Aye, but Now they wont hurt you. --Thefe unchangeable men are all mildness and virtue !+" * Occafioned by a late Whiggish attempt to expofe the lift of penfions as if they were newly granted, when the lift was only fresh made out. This plainly appeared in the Court of King's Bench, as y u well now, Mr. Anti-Jacobin, July 11th 1805. BUONAPARTE BUONAPARTE'S SOLILOQUIES. SOLILOQUY I. France and Italy, Switzerland, Hanover, Spain, Happy times fhall enfue-be it known thro' the world, When once, thro' my prowess THE OCEAN IS FREE ! TOM T'WHIG'EM. Thefe Epigrams were intended for our laft number, but came too late however, the two Foxes which we did infert was by the fame author. TO OUR READERS. We are happy in being able to inform our readers that much additional and valuable assistance has recently been obtained for this Review; so that in future no work of Science will be left unnoticed, nor any other publication of the smallest importance. The Summary of Politics will alfo be resumed very soon; and be continued with regularity. ERRATUM. Page 74, line 17, from bottom, for assignation read assassination ANTI-JACOBIN Review and Magazine, &c. &c. &c. For OCTOBER, 1805. Sit hoc fatis; præftat enim pauca avidé discere, quam multa vorare. ERASM. cum tædio de ORIGINAL CRITICISM. Laing's Hiftory of Scotland. (Continued from P. 398.) THE HE commencement of our author's third chapter excited, we muft confefs, our aftonishment. Affertions fo notorioufly contrary to fact we could not have expected, even from the hardihood of Mr. Laing. "From the moral evidence," he says, "which the conduct of Mary affords of her fecret concern in the murder of her husband, her apologists are careful to turn away their eyes. They quibble concerning particular facts, but are afraid to contemplate the whole in fucceffion; and under whatever name their examinations, enquiries, and vindications are publifhed, they begin invariably at the middle, with verbal and minute criticifins on the letters, or partial obfervations on detached paffages of the conferences in England, of which they never venture to trace and state the refult." (P. 111.) Surely Mr. Laing must take it for granted, that none of his readers have studied this controverfy; or he would not thus infult their common fenfe. On no fubject has the moral evidence been more ably canvaffed, or the facts examined with greater care. Goodall's work, indeed, was principally confined to the object of proving the letters fpurious; but his labours thus far were attended with complete fuccefs. Tytler, however, took a wider range. His "Inquiry" embraces the whole moral evidence, in all its bearings, and is, conteffedly, NO, LXXXVIII. VOL. XXII. Į one |