How natural, and yet how feeling the expression of Tibullus! "Non ego totus abesset amor, sed mutuus esset, Orabam; nec te posse carere velim." And how thrilling are the emotions summoned up by the simple and unadorned words of the gentle Hypermnestra! "I, pedes quo te rapiunt et auræ, Numerous as the favorers of this style of poetry are, and much as we ourselves admire it, we still cannot but think that it ought not to be placed in competition with those before enumerated; and for this reason, that it partakes of less inspiration, as it is more nearly allied to prose, resting its whole merits on the appeals which it makes to the heart and feelings. It is the poetry of unadorned nature; and is immediately defaced, when it becomes loaded with gaudy trappings and swelling sounds. It is the poetry of Burns. But can he compete with a genius such as Shakspeare? Burns is the na.. tional poet of Scotland-Shakspeare the poet of no age or country, but all countries and all time. These in our opinion are the necessary constituents of poetry; and indeed it will be difficult to find any one (we speak in course of poets, not rhymesters) who is not remarkable for, or whose peculiar talent is not characterised by, one of these four qualities. He who can combine them all must ever stand supereminent; and the station to be assigned to others ought to be determined according as they possess the highest or lowest of these attributes. The poetry of the Iliad consists principally in the force, beauty, and copiousness of the language, the striking contrast of character, and the variety of incident. The Iliad, and Gerusalemme Liberata, are rather the works of a highly cultivated taste, and active fancy, than the sublime inspirations of real poetry. The Lusiad is somewhat of the same order, except that it abounds in strong and nervous sentiment, which we in vain seek for in either of the two preceding poems. Milton and Dante had more sublimity, more of real inspiration, grander ideas, and more powerful language at command than any of these great masters of epic poetry; and in our opinion are decidedly superior to them all. We have already taken so much room in explaining our sentiments relative to the necessary qualities of poetry in general, that we must defer all particular consideration of the modern Latin poets until our next paper. Having now cleared away At quicumque istinc ad nos accesserit hospes, Sed nisi jam captum blanda hæc te vincla tenerent, Nam memini, cum te vivum jurare solebas, Non me, si cupias, posse carere diu. Vivis, Castilion; vivasque beatius opto; Cur tua mutata est igitur mens? cur prior ille, Cur tibi nunc videor vilis? nec, ut ante solebam, A nostris simul ac vestri abiere oculi. Et tibi nunc subeunt forsan fastidia nostri, Et grave jam Hippolytes nomen in aure tua est. Quid queror? en tua scribenti epistola venit, Quam primum ad patrios velle referre lares ; Nec culpanda tua est mora, nam præcepta deorum Esse tamen fertur clementia tanta Leonis, Ut facili humanas audiat aure preces. Tu modo et illius numen veneratus adora, Cumque tua attuleris supplex vota, adjice nostra, Aut jubeat te jam properare ad monia Mantûs, Et data cum tibi sim utroque orba puella parente, Nunc nimis ingrata est vita hæc mihi; namque ego tantum Auspiciisque bonis, et bene, dicit, eas. Our second extract is altogether of a different style; but not less deserving of our warmest approbation. It is a happy imitation of the best and purest writing of Propertius; possessing all his elegance and sprightliness, without that affected and excessive display of learning, which too often chills the flow of the Roman poet. Though an imitation, it is as an imitation should be-not a servile copy of any particular set of phrases and sentiments, recooked and served up for the twentieth time, till they become flat and insipid; but rather betokening a congeniality of thought and feeling, caught perhaps from the inspirations of some master-hand, and yet breathing the freshness and spirit of an original. Ad puellam in littore ambulantem. "Ad mare ne accedas propius, mea vita; protervos Hi rapiunt, si quam incautam aspexere puellam Quin etiam in siccum exsiliunt sæpe, agmine facto, Tum si qua est inter prædam formosa puella, 1 Tu mihi sola domus, tu, Cynthia, sola penates. 2 Horat. Od. iii. 9. ult. Propert. Eleg. i. 11, 24. 3 Armaque cum tulero portæ votiva Capenæ, Propert. Eleg. iv. 3. 11. Hos tu seu pisces, seu monstra obscœna vocare, Quin potius diversi abeamus; respice, ut antrum Pictaque odorato flore renidet humus. Nesciat hoc quisquam, nam si nos turba sequatur, There are but two faults, which we can find in this little piece to hinder it from being perfect; the cold and insufferable conceit, "Ignibus urentur flumina et ipsa meis ;" and the shameful carelessness of such a cæsura as "Antra ingrata tibi ingrata et erunt nemora." But as this poem was not published originally with the rest of Castiglione's Latin verses, but discovered amongst his papers after his death, it is probable that it had not received its final polish from the pen of its author; and then it would be an ungenerous and ungrateful task to criticise it too minutely ; We "Velut si Egregio inspersos reprehendas corpore nævos." e might add a long list of mighty names, Scaliger, Vulpius, Brokhusius, Burmann, &c., all of whom have been loud in celebrating the praises of Castiglione, did we imagine that our readers would need any further recommendation, or any more powerful excitement towards procuring a copy of this little book, than the extracts which we have made. They speak for themselves, more eloquently and substantially than the empty praises of all the scholars the world has produced. ORIGINES; Or, Remarks on the Origin of several States, Empires, and Cities. By SIR W. DRUMMOND. 8vo. The Hebrew the primitive language of mankind. [Concluded from No. LXV.] IN the first volume of his interesting researches, page 85, Sir W. Drummond observes, "It can be shown from the Bible itself, that the language spoken by mankind before the flood was Hebrew." His proof for the truth of this position is, that many of the names of persons mentioned before the flood were given to them for reasons specified, which very reasons appear manifestly in the etymological meaning of the names in Hebrew. He instances Kain, of whom his mother said, I have gotten a man from the Lord; but Kain in Hebrew signifies acquisition, and the reference of Kainiti, I have gotten, to Kain, shows that Eve spoke in the Hebrew language. Parkhurst in his preface to his Hebrew Lexicon confirms Sir W. D. as follows: "It appears evident from the Mosaic account of the original formation of man, that language was the immediate gift of God to Adam; and the language thus communicated by God to Adam, notwithstanding the objections of ancient or modern cavillers, was no other (I mean as to the main and structure of it) than that Hebrew in which Moses wrote. Else what meaneth the inspired historian when he wrote, Gen. ii. 19, Whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof? And the names of Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, Noah, &c., with their etymological reasons, are as truly Hebrew as those of Peleg, Abraham, Sarab, Isaac, &c." See the references in Parkhurst to authors who have treated this subject. It is very satisfactory, then, to find that an unprejudiced and competent inquirer, Sir W. Drummond, has been led by close |