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Jefs fincere than his opponents. (p. 151.) He taught only the ftate-doctrine of authority, and the unpleafing duty of submiffion: and he had been fo long not only the monarch but the tyrant of litezature, that almost all mankind were delighted to find him defied and infulted by a new name, not yet confidered as any man's rival. (p. 155.) I cannot but remark a kind of refpect, perhaps unconsciously, paid to this great man by his biographers; every houfe in which he refided is hiftorically mentioned, as if it were an injury to neglect naming any place that he honoured with his prefence. (p. 173.)

His warmeft advocates must allow, that he never fpared any afperity of reproach, or brutality of infolence. (p. 190.) He never learned the art of doing little things with grace; he overlooked the milder excellence of fuavity and foftness; he was a lion that had no fill in dandling the kid. (p. 218.) He was naturally a thinker for himself, confident of his own abilities, and difdainful of help or hindrance. There is in his writings nothing by which the pride of other authors might be gratified, or favour gained; no exchange of praise, or folicitation of fupport. (p. 262.) He had watched with great diligence the operations of human nature, and traced the effects of opinion, humour, intereft, and paffion. From fuch remarks proceeded that great number of fententious diftichs which have paffed into converfation, and are added as proverbial axioms to the general flock of practical knowledge. (Butler, p. 280.) He in proved tafte, if he did not enlarge knowledge, and may be numbered among the benefactors to English literature. (Rofcommon, p. 320.) He paffed his time in the company that was highest both in, rank and wit, from which even his obfinate fobriety did not exclude him. Though he drank water, he was enabled by his fertility of mind to heighten the mirth of Bacchanalian aflemblies. (WalIer, p. 367) His convivia! power of pleafing is univerfally acknowledged; but those who converfed with him intimately, found him not only paffionate, especially in his old age, but refentful. (p. 382 ) To fee the highest mind thus levelled with the meineft, may produce fome folace to the confcioufnefs of weaknefs, and lome mortification to the pride of wifdom. But let it be remembered, that minds are not levelled in their pow ers, but when they are first levelled in 3.

their defies. (Dryden, vol. II. p. 23.) His reputation in time was fuch, that his name was thought neceffary to the fuccefs of every poetical or literary performance, and therefore he was engaged to contribute fomething, whatever it might be, to many publications. (p. 55.)

That converfion will always be iufpected that apparently comes with intereft. He that never finds his error till it hinders his progrefs towards wealth or honour, will not be thought to love truth only for herself. Yet it may eafily happen, that information may come at a commodious time; and, as truth and interest are not by any fatal neceffity at variance, that one may by accident introduce the other. When opinions are ftruggling into popularity, the arguments by which they are oppofed or defended become more known; and he that changes his profeffion would perhaps have changed it before, with the like opportunities of inftruction. (p. 61.) See vol. I. p. 151. 155.

The modefty which made him fo flow to advance, and fo eafy to be repulfed, was certainly no fufpicion of deficient merit, or unconfcioufnefs of his own value; he appears to have known, in its whole extent, the dignity of his character, and to have fet a very high value on his power and performances. He probably did not offer his converfation, becaufe he expected it to be folicited; and he retired from a cold reception, not fubmiffive, but indignant, with fuch reverence of his own greatnefs as made him unwilling to expole is to neglect or violation. (p. 84) He has been defcribed as magifterially prefiding over the younger writers, and affuming the diftribution of poetical fame; but he who excells has a right to teach; and he whofe judgement is inconteftable, may, without ufurpation, examine and decide. (p. 85.)

His criticifm may be confidered as ge neral or occafional. In his general precepts, which depend upon the nature of things, and the structure of the human mind, he may doubtlefs be fafely recommended to the confidence of the reader; but his occafional and particular politions were fometimes interefted, fometimes negligent, and fometimes capricious. (p. 108.) His fcholaftic acquifitions feem not proportionate to his opportunities and abilities. He could not, like Milton or Cowley, have made his name illuftrious merely by his learning. He mentions but few books, and thole

fuch

Character of Dr. Johnfon, as drawn by himself.

fuch as lie in the beaten track of regular fudy; from which if ever he departs, he is in danger of lofing himlelf in unknown regions. (p. 111)

Yet it can

not be faid that his genius is ever unprovided of matter, or that his fancy languithes in penury of ideas.

His works abound with knowledge, and fparkle with illuftrations. There is fcarce any science or faculty that does not fupply him with occafional images and lucky fimilitudes; every page difcovers a mind very widely acquainted both with art and nature, and in full poffeffion of great frores of intellectual wealth. (p. 12.)

The power that predominated in his intellectual operations was rather strong reafon than quick fenfibility. Upon all occafions that were prefented, he studied rather than felt, and produced fenti ments not fuch as nature enforces, but meditation fupplies. With the fimple and elemental paffions, as they fpring feparately in the mind, he feems not much acquainted; and feldom describes them, but as they are complicated by the various relations of fociety, and confufed in the tumults and agitations of life. (p. 173.) He was a man of fuch eftimation among his companions, that the cafual cenfures or praifes which he dropt in converfation were confidered, like thofe of Scaliger, as worthy of prefervation. (Smith, p. 249.) His phrafes are original, but they are fometimes harth; as he inherited no elegance, none has he bequeathed. His expreffion has every mark of laborious ftudy; the line feldom seems to have been formed at once: the words did not come till they were -called, and were then put by constraint into their places, where they do their duty, but do it fullenly. In his greater compofitions there may be found more rigid ftatelinefs than graceful dignity. .(Prior, vol. III. p. 37.)

If any judgement be made from his books of his moral character, nothing will be found but purity and excellence. (Addifon, vol, II. p. 378.) In cales indifferent, he was zealous for virtue, truth, and juftice; he knew very well the neceffity of goodnefs to the prefent and future happiness of mankind, nor is there perhaps any writer who has lefs endeavoured to pleafe by flattering the appetites or perverting the judgement. (Savage, vol. III. p. 350.)

Such is the cento, Mr. Urban, if I may be allowed to call it fo, which I bave made out of the Doctor's Lives of

303

the Poets. Every paffage may not be thought alike applicable; but whoever is converfant with his writings, and remembers his manners, will, I think, allow thar, taken together, they form a more juft character of the Doctor, than we can expect from the partiality of his friends, or the rancour of his enemies. Perhaps, however, my felection will be called whimfical; and it will be faid, that there is not that happy appofition of fentiments which I fancy. If so, the article will at least be amusing to fome of your readers, and offenfive, I hope, to none. It may be necellary to add, that the edition I used is that publifhed in 4 vols. 8vo. 1783.

But whatever opinion the world may entertain of Dr. Johníon, from reading the accounts given by his biographers, and however such accounts may be grateful to the taste of the age; I trufl that the time is faft approaching, when all that is really valuable of Dr. Johnson will acquire its due rank in the esteem of the judicious, and when, all his foibles forgotten, the author of the Rambler will be confidered as one of thofe men, of whom the eighteenth century bath reafon to be proud.

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There is an opinion given by Dr. Johnfon, in his Life of Addifon, which, I confefs, I wish had been deeply inprinted on the minds of fome of his friends, to direct their judgement, and "The delicate feacheck their zeal.

tures of the mind, the nice difcrimina tions of character, and the minute peculiarities of conduct, are foon obliterated; and it is furely better that caprice, abfinacy, frolick, and folly, however they might delight in the description, should be filently forgotten, than that, by wanton merriment and unfeajonable detection, a pang'fhould be given to a widow, a daughter, a brother, or a friend.” Yours, &c.

AMERUS.

Mr. URBAN, St. James's-fir. Feb. 5.
N
In the Monthly Review for December,

1787, my attention was particularly arrefted by a fevere critique on Walker's Hifiorical Memoirs of the Irigh Bards. The great pains, which the author of this critique feemed to have taken to place thofe Memoirs in a ridiculous light, in duced me to fufpect him of fome invidious motive; therefore determined to read the work, and immediately or dered a copy from my bookfeller. I must confels, I was particularly induced to this from having generally ob

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ferved, that all Irish productions, no matter how great their merit, are treated very illiberally by the London Review

ers.

Having gotten the Memoirs, I perufed them with ftrict attention. The pleafure which they afforded me determined me to take this method of pointing out to your numerous readers fome inftances of grofs illiberality in the critique in queftion:-inftances, however, that muft ftrike every reader who will take the fame trouble that I have; though he may, like me, be a total ftranger to the antiquities of Ireland, and totally ignorant of the theory of mufic. Our critic (who makes feveral clumfy attempts at humour) will not admit that the work "has novelty to recommend it," because it treats of old fubjects. Now I have always thought, that it is not the fubject, but the manner in which the fubject is treated, that gives the air of novelty to a work. "Though Ireland (fays Mr. W.) has been long famed for its poetry and mufic, thefe fubjects have never yet been treated of hiftorically." This is certainly no bad reafon for Mr. W's affertion, that his work has novelty to recommend it, which our critic calls a Bull, but not a Jack Bull, as he wittily obferves.

That the Irifh fhould pretend to a high antiquity gives our critic great pain; and in revenge he makes Mr. W. talk ronfenfe, and groffly abuses his learned friend Colonel Vallancey. He alfo conftrues Mr. W's conje&ture refpecting the true æra of the Bards and Druids in Ireland into an allertion, wifely omitting the qualifying word “ probably," which Mr. W. not only modeftly ufes on that occafion, but frequently while treating of the dark ages.

Our critic cenfures Mr. W. for giving to his Bards colleges, inftitutes, &c. and on the authority of Lifh witneffes, whom he has taken the liberty to fuborn. Yet it was natural enough, I think, for our author to confult Irish historians

and Irish poets for information. Our angry critic too, happening to discover the celebrated Abbé du Bos amongt Mr. W's favourite authors, lofes all patience, and not only abufes him in a moft ungentlemanly manner, but either ignorantly or maliciously tranflates his

baffe continué" thorough baje. I lay malicioufly, becaule by putting it into italics, he probably intended that it fhould be mistaken by his readers for Mr. W's tranflation.Another crime

and

laid to our author's charge is his having given the lib. & fat. of a paffage from Horace.--But that he should defcribe the drefs of the Bards, becaufe they are faid to have worn truefe, &c. is a crime of the blackeft dye. Nor can he for. give him for prefuming to difplay a great deal of erudition in his account of the CAOINE, or Irish cry, and for telling us, that women are employed, even at this day, in heightening, with the melting fweetnefs of the female voice," the folemn ceremony of a funeral in Munfter and Connaught. Yet it is in fuch a work one would naturally look for fuch information. As to the critic's witty obfervation on the effects different fpecies of Irish mufic, alfo on the Heirnine, the Jachdar-Channur, and the Horn, I fhall pass them unnoticed, and leave him to laugh at his own jokes, convinced that he alone is capable of enjoying them. Nor fhall I comment on his unfair reprefentation of Mr. W's conjectures concerning the ufe of the flute amongst the early Irish. But I cannot, in juftice to my author, pafs unnoticed over our critic's falfe quotation respecting the mufical contefis (p. 430). The paffage ftands thus in the Memoirs.-Speaking doubtfully of fuch contefts amongst the Irish, Mr. W. proceeds: "Keating, indeed, gives us room to think there were. According to this hiftorian, the Bards were obliged to affemble annually at Tamar, in order to exhibit their mufical as well as poetical compofitions; and those approved by the affembly were ordered to be taught in the fchools. This implies a conteft."

In p. 432 our critic afferts, that because an act was ordained in the reign of Edward 11. reftricting the English nobility from entertaining Irish minstrels, &c. that therefore Frithart's account of the refpe&t paid by the four Irish Kings who visited Richard II. to their minftrels, must be falle. Now, our critic might have known, that the operation of this act was not only confined to the pale, but merely to the English; and that its operations, even thus circumfcribed, were not of long duration. But it was neceflary to endeavour to invalidate Froiffart's account, before he ventured to altert, that formerly "the character of Bard in Ireland was little bet

* In the quotation of Mr. W's obfervation on the effects of Irish mufic, the critic has fubftituted infenfible for irresistible.

ter

Walker's "Memoirs of the Irish Bard," vindicated.

ter than that of piper to the White Boys." See p. 433.

Our critic's tenderness for Dr. Beattie (who is perhaps his countryman) makes him with that Mr. W. may have quoted him falfely; but, on confulting the Doctor's work, I find that Mr. W. has not deviated from him even in a fyllable. Neither has he falfely quoted Sir W. Jones. He has, indeed, unfortunately called Meff. Warton and Hawkins Doctors, and allowed a few errors of the prefs to escape his notice. But thefe are faults for which you, Mr. Urban, or any other liberal critic, would not, I am fure, cenfure him.

Our critic certainly talks very learnedly about mufic, as learnedly as if Dr. Burney had stood at his elbow while he wrote. Here, undoubtedly, Mr. W. is no match for him; for he infinuates in his Preface his flender knowledge of the "When I happen theory of music. (fays he) to fpeak fcientifically of mufic, it is Mr. Beauford that generally dicBut mufic was not his theme; his fubject, however, involving it, he was neceffitated to speak occafionally of it, as an hiftorian.

tates."

Both Bruce and Dr. Burney must certainly be very angry with Mr. W. for telling his mind, with all the candour of youth, about the Theban harp, and will probably, on that account, cenfure both him and his Memoirs, in their refpective publications now in the prefs. To this, however, I would advife him to submit patiently. So young an author fhould not attempt to enter the lifts with two literary veterans.

But I fear I am trefpafing too much on your patience. I thall therefore referve for another letter my observations on other parts of this redoubtable critique. Nor fhall I, left you should fuf. pect me of partiality, beftow any encomium on the Memoirs, not even on those beautiful tranflations from the Irish with which Mr. W. has interfperfed both the body of his work and the Appendix. To with-hold all praise is better than to endeavour, like our critic, to damn with faint praife fuch parts as defy cenfure.

P.S. I beg leave to observe, that on ftepping into a foreign book feller's fhop, fince writing the above, for the new Opera of Il Re Teodore, I accidentally faw on the compter the Efemeridi Literarie di Roma, for March, 1787; in which I read with much pleasure several GENT. MAG. April, 1788.

305

paffages from Mr. W's work tranflated
into Italian, and warm encomiums from
the Land of Harmony on the work in
general. L'erudizione del tutto pel-
legrina all' Italia, le differtazioni d'al-
cuni doti antiquari dell' Accademia
Reale Irlandife, gli aneddoti intereffanti,
e rare cognizioni che ci s'elebifcono in
ogni pagina, e le memorie biografiche
d'alcuni Bardi recenti, fpecialmente dell'
ultimo di effi, cisè del celebre Carolano,
fono i pregi fingolari che richiamano a
que' opera l'attenzione dell' antiquario,
del poeta, e di chiunque vuol confide-
rare gli nomini ne' primi avvanzamenti,
e progreffi della focieta." Of the ac-
count of the CAOINE, which gave fuch
offence to the English critic, the Roman
critic thus fpeaks: "Meriterabbe altresì
d'effere tradotta per intiero la defcrizione
che fa il Signor Walker del CAOINE
o fia canto funebre, che face vano tutti gli
ordini de' Bardi intieme fopra il corpo
del defunto Eroe." I could not obferve
the fpirit of liberality which breathes
through this whole critique from a dif-
tan: clime, without biuihing for my
CANDIDE.
countrymen.

Remarks on PINKERTON'S "Disserta
"tion on the Goths," &c. Concluded
from p. 206.

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HOPE I fhall not be found to deviate too much from the unity of my fubject, if I fubjoin a few remarks on the effects of an inaccuracy in another famous writer of antiquity relative to it.

Cæfar begins the narrative of his affairs by telling us, that all Gaul was divided into three parts, and that the natives of one of them were called, in their own language, Celte, and in that of the Romans, Galli. Now it is apparent that the diftinction is very negli gently noted, fince the fecond fyllable of what is given as the native name is itself a Latin addition. He feems atraid of blemishing the beauty of his page with so uncouth a word as Cel, i. e. Kel; and, according to the practice of his countrymen, foftened the initial into G, and gave a termination to the word; a convenience and delicacy whereof all the Northern languages are deflitute. But the greater confufion arifes from his method of divifion. To fpeak in the terms of logic; he divides a genus nto three fpecies, whereof one is the genus; the Bege and Aquitane being two, and the Ceile the third. In conformity to this, the country which the last-menti

oned

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oned people inhabited is called by the geographers Gallia Celtica, that is, Gallic Gaul. I mention not this in contempt of Cæfar, fince he was not writing a natural hiftory, but military and political memoirs: and the popular names and divifions of countries were fufficient for his purpose. 1 advance it only to fhew how pedants are misled by authority.

North-weft corner of Spain (though it felf a Gallic country) diftinguished their acquifition by the name of Cailacia, which is now called Gallicia: and thus the emigrants from the Continent gave the name Caledonia to the Northern end of Britain. A body of Galls, who occupied the territory on the Iberus in Spain, united their name with that of the natives, and were called Celtiberia; as a colony of Finns, fettling themselves in Ireland, became diftinguished by the term Fingals.

When the Saxons conquered this ifland, the few natives who escaped the general destruction retired to the moun

It may affift my defign to exemplify here with what fond veneration thefe Kelts or Galls always retained the generic name of their parent nation, in whatever age, to whatever country, and from whatever part of their own they migrated. And in this, that I may obtainous country beyond the Severn, to ferve the order of time, I fhall first mention the city of Calydon, at the mouth of the Evenus, in Etolia, to prove that, in the remoteft age, thefe people eftablished colonies, and called them by their names, in countries far Eastward of their boundaries.

For many years they continued to menace Italy and Greece with conqueft; and, about 270 before the Chriftian æra, an immente emigration of them, under the conduct of Brennus, having in a great battle defeated the Macedo nians, whofe kingdom had been long the bulwark of Greece, poured down upon Etolia and Phocis. A detach-, ment of this army made its way through Theffaly; and, paffing along the thores of Macedon and Trace, croffed the Hellefpont, and fettled on the Northern fide of Phrygia, between the Sangar and the Halys. This country they called Galacia: but, from the circumftance of fome Greek colonies being betore fettled in it, it came to be called by the geographers Gallo-Gracia. The fangers, however, ftill preferved themfelves fo diftin&tly from the original inhabitants, or prevailed to completely over them, that when St. Jerome vifited the country 600 years after, he found the language of it the fame as that fpoken in his time at Treves; and such probably it fill remains in appellative terms, as well as in the names of places *. Thus, thofe who feized the

*On remarquera que dans le nom d'une manfion qui fur une autre voie port le nom d'Eccobrigia, le terme purentent Celtique ou Galate de briga etant connu pour defigner un pont, le cours du fleuve Halys doit en effect traverfer ce pallage. D'Avil. Bric, bridge, however, is one of the terms common to the Gallic and Gothic.

which they gave the name, not of that which they had abandoned (however dear to them), but the generic one of their nation, Gall; the initial of which the Saxons, according to their practice, have changed into W, a letter peculiar to their own dialects *.

About the 8th century, a colony of Galls eftablished themselves in Dacia, upon the Danube, and called their territory Gallacia, which the Teutonic people who furrounded them have changed into Wallachia.

About the time of Julius Cæfar, the Germans made frequent incurfions into Belgic Gall, from which they were feparated by the Rhine; and, as the Roman power declined, they got poffeffion of the whole country. And the pofterity of thefe men, from that circumflance, acquired the name of Walloons.

Of Gallic diftricts, cities, rivers, and mountains, most of which fill retain enough of their ancient names to indicate their origin, is the coaft of Calabria in Italy, the more modern refidence of the Calabri, who before poffeffed the territory of that name in Apulia; the country of the Callaici in Tarraconia in Spain, whofe name is now loft; Calaete in Italy, now Cɔronia; the city of Sena Gallica near the. hs, on the Adriatic fhore, now called

For thofe who will be led only by authority, there is that of Wallis: "Literarum G & W frequentiffima eft commutatio.” Preface. And of Spelman: "Galli femper Cutuntur pro Sax. p, i. e. pro W. Gless. (Garrantia).-Examples of the Saxon practice in appellative words beginning with G, are, Wager, Warden, Wardrobe, Warranty, War, to which may be added the name William, for Gager, Gardon, Guardrobe, Guarrantée, Guerre, and Guillaume.

Senigagria.

I

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