acts in fociety with peculiar force, and is greatly strengthened by fympathy. What we feel together, we feel with double force. Each is affected by that fum of devout expreffion to which each contributes, but which no one fingly can fupply. The flame fpreads from breast to breast; a divine enthusiasm is caught: the facred ftillnefs of the day, with all the affairs of this world at a ftand; the folemnities of public homage, with decorations fuited to our feelings and to the place; the living voice of the people, the animating fwell of facred mufic, the proftrations of deep humility, the exulting expreflions of pious joy, all that is affecting in the warmth of zeal, or delightful in the beauty of ho linefs, confpire to touch, to raife, to fubdue the heart, to form a tafte, and to confirm a habit of devotion."

The moral advantages of religion are defcribed in colours equally expreflive; but we fhall only lay before our readers what occurs in the subsequent paragraph.

The religion of the gofpel is a fimple tule of life, fuited to the real tate of human nature, to the capacity, the genius, the condition and neceflities of all mankind. It teaches us, that the univerfe is one great fyltem, with God at its head; that as children of the fame Father, as members of one great family, and related to all things in it, we fhould be pleafed with whatever tends to the general good; and in the duty which we owe to the great fyftem, and its author, are comprehended all other duties arifing from the relations of human life, the duties of the tender husband, the faithful wife; the good parent, the dutiful child; the kind matter, the diligent fervant; the generous prince, the loyal fubject; the affectionate friend, the friendly neighbour; the juft dealer, the candid, the forgiving, the benevolent man. In this fyftem the parts affigned us are all honourable, and by keep. ing to them, and acting them well, we become the friends of nature, co-operate with providence, and can only thus be happy. Bleffed with fuch a religion, we cannot be too thankful that we live in a land where, though not of the establishment, in which there are many ornaments, as of fcience, fo of piety and virtue, we can worship God as our confciences, our habits, our fituation may direct.'

In every part of this difcourfe, the author difcovers an amiable moderation, refpecting the different modes of religious opinions and discipline.

Prefixed to the fermon, is an occafional prayer, in which the purity of the author's language correfponds to the fubli mity of his devotion,

Efay on the Principles of Tranflation. 8vo. 6s. Boards Cadell. 1791.

Ranflation is a tafk apparently eafy to one acquainted with both the languages required: it is indeed an easy talk to tranflate with moderate fidelity and fkill, but few have attained the fuperior degree of excellence which gives the ver fion the eafe, the freedom, and the clegance of the original, while it copies, with a minute accuracy, the various thoughts, and preferves inviolate the peculiar manner. A perfect tranf lation in all these refpects we have probably never seen; and, from the unaccommodating idioms of different languages, we can scarcely expect to fee it, except in the unvarying phrafes of mathematics and natural hiftory. Where the mind expatiates into the regions of fancy and imagination, the peculiar hues which thefe bestow can feldom be copied without lofing. their vivid brilliancy, or changing the delicacy of the fhades. The didactic preceptors in this department have not been liberal in their inftructions: the tranflator is confidered as a patient drudge, whom it is difgraceful to affift or to notice. Our author, therefore, fteps forward with fome propriety, to examine the neceffary requifites of a good verfion; and we can chearfully praife his judgment and taste in the conduct of this attempt: in many refpects they are difplayed with great advantage, and would reflect great credit on the author, if he were known.

A tranflation, he tells us, fhould be a complete tranfcript of the ideas of the original work; the ftyle and manner fhould be of the fame character with that of the original, and it should have the cafe of an original compofition.

The first rule includes the knowledge of the language from which the work is derived, and that into which it is transfered. This, perhaps, as well as the other precepts under this head, are fufficiently obvious, and have been often repeated. They may feem to require no depth of judgment or extent of enquiry; and, indeed, on thefe we mean not to rest the au thor's merit. In the illuftration of the rules, in the examples, and his opinions refpecting the merit of each, his tafte and knowledge are principally confpicuous. The tranflation of Polybius, by Folard, our author tells us is defective, from his imperfed knowledge of the Greek; and his defects have been pointed out by an able officer, and a good Grecian, M. Guif chardt, the Quintus Icilius probably of the great Frederick. D'Alembert has tranflated feveral paffages of Tacitus, which we have had occafion to commend. In fome of thefe, as the prefent author fhows, he has failed, not indeed from imperfectly understanding the language, but from his aiming too concilely to give the fenfe of a pailage, in even fewer words than the C. R. N. AR. (IV.) March, 1792. X fenten

fententious hiftorian. Yet the general merit of D'Alembert is allowed; and even Mr. Melmoth, to whom we think occafionally fome partiality is fhown, is convicted of a few errors of a fimilar kind.

A great difficulty occurs, refpecting what should be the tranflator's conduct when a paffage is obfcure. If it is defignedly fo, the obfcurity fhould undoubtedly be continued; if otherwife, the tranflator fhould decide as well as he can. In the beginning of the Annals, Tacitus had faid Dictaturæ ad tempus fumebantur, which D'Alembert (we think properly) tranflated, On creoit au befoin des dictateurs paffagers. We fufpect the hiftorian meant to exprefs both ideas, and expreffly employed the equivocal words, ad tempus,' for this purpofe. An English tranflator might have faid temporary dictators were occafionally appointed; the adjective pointing out the neceffity of the appointment, and the limited time. Our author contends that the latter idea was meant, because neque decemviralis poteftas ultra biennium valuit, follows. His general conduct fhows that he meant not to be unfair in this argument; and indeed the whole fentence is tranfcribed in the work: but, in the fame claufe, the confular power of the military tribunes, occafionally admitted, is added. From the context we conclude that both meanings were intended. Ad tempus is used by different authors in both fenfes. We may particularly mention Quintilian and Cicero.-Accommodare fe alicui ad tempus occurs in the oration for Cælius-Neque folum ad tempus maximam utilitatem attulifti fed etiam ad exemplum facti. Cic. Dolabellæ. For the other meaning we may alfo quote Cicero Non invitamentum, ad tempus fed perpetuæ virtutes eft præmium. Cic. Planco. Thefe are, however, trivial inadvertencies of little importance: we were led to the difcuffion in defence only of D'Alembert. Perhaps we may add, that the remark on another part of the French academician's tranflation is a little hypercritical- Sine ira & ftudio quorum caufas procul habeo.'" The verfion, fans fiel & baffeffe: mon caractere m'en eloigne & les tems m'en difpenfent, is flightly amplified without any additional meaning in ferted. In English it would be without feverity or mean nefs, for the cause of either can have no influence; and these 'caufes' D'Alembert, with wonderful perfpicuity and concifenefs, has mentioned without feverity or meannefs: my character fecures me from the one, and the æra renders the other unneceffary.'

Another very difficult queftion is difcuffed in the third chapter;-whether it is allowable to add to or retrench the ideas of the original. Though our author allows it should be done with caution, and that nothing but an idea neceffarily connected with the original, or obviously redundant,, fhould be

7

added

added or taken away, yet in the fubfequent part, particularly in poetical compofition, he admits too freely of additions.

Rofcommon, after judiciously recommending to the tranfiator, firit to poflefs himself of the fenfe and meaning of his author, and then to imitate his manner and ftyle, thus prefcribes a general rule,

Your author always will the best advise;

Fall when he falls, and when he rifes, rife,

Far from adopting the former part of this maxim, I conceive it to be the duty of a poetical tranflator, never to fuffer his origi nal to fall. He must maintain with him a perpetual contest of genius; he must attend him in his highest flights, and foar, if he can, beyond him: and when he perceives, at any time, a dimination of his powers, when he fees a drooping wing, he must raise him on his own pinions.'

It was a quaint remark of Denham, and the peculiarity of the expreffion has probably contributed more to render it current than the juftnefs of the fentiment: he tells us, the fpirit of poetry is fo volatile, that, in pouring it out of one language into another, it will all evaporate if a new spirit is not added in the transfufion.' If examined critically, it will be found difficult fo to gauge' the spirit evaporated or added, as to afcertain the identity of the work; nor can we fay a priori, that expreffions, on the whole, may not be as poetically rendered in one language as in another; for in one part the tranflator may gain what in another he may lofe. But it is not this mathematical nicenefs that is the object of attention: an image may undoubtedly be heightened by a kindred circumftance in unifon with the whole picture, if it does not deftroy the confiftency and like nefs; and a redundant or a ridiculous one may be taken away, or foftened, within the fame limits. The indulgence must be under the jurifdiction of a fevere and accurate judgment; nor fhould we have engaged fo particularly in this difquifition, if a fingular example had not occurred in this Number of our Journal, we mean in the contrafted view of Mr. Pope's and Mr. Cowper's tranflation of Homer. These authors are the examples we could have wifhed: the one who polifhed every thing he touched, who adorned what was beautiful, and foftened what was mean or ridiculous; the other, keeping feverely within the lines prefcribed, copying the picture with a har h accuracy, and preferving faithfully the outline in the most unpleafing parts. Strictly speaking, each has failed in conveying a faithful copy: in one verfion the garb and ornaments are unfaitable to the figure; in the other, the likeness is unpleafing, because every harsh trait is exaggerated, and every difagreeable image conveyed with a difgufting minutenefs. Yet the reader will not long hefitate which to prefer. Our au

X 2

thor's

thor's doctrine, and the general feelings, will lead us to the firft; but the poet and the critic, in this line of ornamental embellifhment, go too far, not only in poetry but in profe.—Let us attend to the rules and the examples of the latter.

Our author, tracing tranflation from the firft fervile interpreters of word for word,' proceeds to mention that in May's Lucan, and Sandys' Ovid, are the firft dawns of a more liberal method of rendering one language into another, by correfponding idioms. Sandys, from whom Pope caught the firft fpark of poetical fire, has been too much neglected; and we fhall beg leave to copy the fpecimen of his verfion quoted in the volume before us:

There's no Alcyone!
Together with her Ceyx.
All founds of comfort.

none, none! fhe died
Silent be
Thefe, thefe eyes did fee

My fhipwrack't lord. I knew him; and my hands
Thruft forth t'have held him: but no mortal bands
Could force his ftay. A ghoft! yet manifeft,
My husband's ghoft: which, Oh, but ill exprefs'd
His forme and beautie, late divinely rare!
Now pale and naked, with yet dropping haire:
Here flood the miferable! in this place:
Here, here! (and fought his aerie fteps to trace).
SANDYS' OVID, b. IN

Nulla eft Alcyone, nulla eft, ait: occidit unal
Cum Ceyce fuo; folantia tollite verba:
Naufragus interiit; vidi agnovique, manufque
Ad difcedentem, cupiens retinere, tetendi.
Umbra fuit: fed et umbra tamen manifefta virique
Vera mei: non ille quidem, fi quæris, habebat
Affuetos vultus, nec quo prius ore nitebat.".
Pallentem, nudumque, et adhuc humente capillo,
Infelix vidi ftetit hoc miferabilis ipfo,

Ecce loco: (et quærit veftigia fiqua fuperfint).
METAM. 1. I'

This tranflation is clofe; in fome parts highly beautiful and peculiarly happy.-Dryden was the parent of a more licentious method of tranflating; for it is easier to amplify than to be concife, and more convenient to form a bulky than a smaller vo lume. His profe-tranflations are equally faulty in this rel pect; but, when our author mentioned his verfion of Lucian, or at least that publifhed under his name, it is furprifing that he overlooked Mr. Carr's tranflation of this witty freethinker of the Pagan world. The particular errors noted are chiefly thofe in which the frigid conceits of the Italian poets are interwoven with the more manly languages of Greece and Rome:

one'