As when the fane and facred wood
Of Dian, or meand'ring flood,
In pleasant fields, or copious flow
Of Rhine, or many-colour'd bow,
Are all defcrib'd-but in this case
The foppifh trump'ry had no place.
Perhaps a cypress you can draw-
But does that fignify a straw,
If he that buys what you perform,
Was to be made as in a ftorm.
The potter had a jar begun;
Why nothing but a pipkin done?
In fhort, the fubject what it will,
Be fimple and confiftent ftill.
Moft of us-(I the fire addrefs,
And each good fon the fire express)
Are dup'd by things that feem aright:
I wou'd be brief with all my might,
And fo become as dark as night!
He nerves and spirit must neglect,
Who ftrives to be extreme correct;
He's apt to fwell, who wou'd be grand,
And he that dreads to leave the strand,
In terror of the fierce profound,
Is fure to run his fhip aground:
And he that works a fimple theme,
With monster, prodigy and dream,
Will paint the dolphin in the lawn,
While boars are upon ocean drawn ;
A scape from error leads to vice,

}

The translator has illuftrated the first part of this epistle by a new and ingenious conjecture. Horace, he fays, manifeftly ridicules the Metamorphofes of Ovid, who was in high esteem at the court of Auguftus for that work, which, however beautiful for music and painting, had nothing to recommend it to the judgment and taste of Horace, who well knew that the business of poetry is to exprefs gratitude, reward me

rit, and promote moral edification. The Metamorphofes are made up of incredible prodigies, and impoffible transformations, ever shocking common fenfe, and feducing imagination into a wilderness of fruitlefs perplexities. Poetry and nature ought never to be fet at a distance, but when a writer is fummoned to fuch a task by real miracles and divine transcendency. When a new work is made, published, and is uncommonly fuccessful in its propagation and applause amongst the people, it is too much the subject of common converfation, not to fufpend the very idea of things, bearing an older date, unless they be revived by invidious comparisons or private connections. It was no small mortification to Horace, that this was the cafe with regard to his poems and those of Ovid-but to the proofs:

Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam

Jungere fi velit, & varias inducere plumas
Undique collatis membris: ut turpiter atrum
Definat in pifcem mulier formofa fuperne :
Spectatum admiffi rifum teneatis, amici ?

These lines are in open contempt of Ovid, who has done all these extravagances to a tittle, in his fifth Book of the Metamorphofes. As for example:

Vobis, Acheloides, unde
Pluma, pedefque avium, cùm virginis ora geratis?
An quia cum legeret vernos Proferpina flores,
In comitum numero mifta, Sirenes, eratis ?
Quam poftquam toto fruftra quæfiftis in orbe;
Protinus ut veftram fentirent æquora curam,
Poffe fuper fluctus alarum infiftere remis
Optaftis; facilefque Deos habuiftis ; & artus
Vidiftis veftros fubitis flavefcere pennis:

Ne tamen ille canor mulcendas natus ad aures,
Tantaque dos oris linguæ dependeret ufum;
Virginei vultus & vox humana remanfit.

Here you have got the feathers and limbs of birds, the virgin's face and the fish's-tail, which are inevitably implied by the Mermaids, with a pair of horses heads eafily fuggefted to the fancy by an idea of Pluto's chariot, and the rape of Proferpine.

Inceptis gravibus plerumque & magna profeffis Purpureus, late qui fplendeat, unus & alter Affuitur pannus-quum lucus & ara Dianæ— And a little after:

-Pluvius defcribitur arcus.

Nothing

Nothing can be more folemn than the beginning of the Metamorphofes, where Ovid adjures the immortal Gods to affift his undertaking, for they themselves performed all those wonders-nam vos mutaftis & illas -And as for the fplendid patch-work, it means the whole chain of Rhapsodies, from one end of the book to the other. But to go on-the fane and facred wood of Dian, &c. alludes to the following lines in the VII. book of the Metamorphofes ;

Ibat ad antiquas Hecates Perfeidos aras

Quas nemus umbrofum, fecretaque fylva tegebant.

The rainbow, to this paffage in the XI. book,

Induitur velamina mille colorum

Iris, arquato cælum curvamine fignans
Tecta petit juffi fub rupe latentia Regis.

But the next place I fhall cite is fo amazingly striking, that it is alone a fufficient key to the close discovery.

Qui variare cupit rem prodigialiter unam
Delphinum fylvis appingit, fluctibus aprum.

If there be any obfcurity or obliquity in the other instances, which I have cited to the argument, here is nothing but open affault in broad day-light.

Mirantur fub aquâ lucos, urbefque, domofque
Nereides fivasque tenent delphines & altis
Incurfunt ramis, agitataque robora pulfant.
Nat lupus inter oves: fulvos vehit unda leones:
Unda vehit tigres, nec vires fulminis apre,

Crura nec ablato profunt velocia cervo.

In this reprehenfion however (to use a homely phrafe) Horace gives himself a flap of the face; for he does much the fame thing in the second ode of the first book, at the third stanza, and the truth of the Deluge (which Ovid was nearer to knowing than Horace) being admitted, there is no abfurdity in these paffages at all

• Over and above all that has been advanced to strengthen my pofition, there are yet two remarkable things worth attending to firft, that Horace defpifed elegy in general on Ovid's account, though the epiftles are very excellent, and though he had a very great affection for Tibullus, Ovid's master.

Quis tamen exiguos elegos emiferit author,
Grammatici certant, & adhuc fub judice lis eft.

I

The next is a fneer even to the defcription of Ovid's perfon,

-Hunc ego-me, fi quid componere curem,
Non magis effe velim, quam pravo vivere nafa
Spectandum nigris oculis, nigroque capillo.

Every school-boy will tell us, why Ovid's parents called him Nafo; and he himfelf informs us that he had black hair, which is ufually (I suppose) accompanied with black eyes.

Jam mea cygneas imitantur tempora plumas,
Inficit & nigras alba fene&ta comas.

After all, we must admit that Horace was rather too hard upon Ovid, who, though his inferior with regard to fome things, was altogether a better man in others, and his works, with all their defects, have justly intitled him to the praise, as his hardhips have in a manner endeared him, to the affection of pofterity.

6

Bishop Atterbury, in a little fugitive piece, that I have feen, takes occafion to make complaint of Virgil's want of gratitude to Horace (who had celebrated him very frequently) in refufing a place for his panegyric in every part of his works. Horace is a debtor to the pen of Ovid in this article.

Et tenuit noftras numerofus Horatius aures,

Dum ferit Aufoniâ carmina culta lyrâ.

This compliment would have been returned by Horace, one of the most thankful men that ever lived (if by the bye it was written in his life-time) had he not, according to our hypothefis, entertained a moft extraordinary contempt, both for his writings and himself.'

To the fecond volume the editor has fubjoined Mr. Pope's Ode on St. Cecilia's day, with his own elegant translation of that poem, which was published at Cambridge 1743, and procured him the honour of a very handsome letter of thanks from that celebrated author. He has likewife enriched this edition with the chronological fynopfis of Rodellius, together with the life of Horace, and an effay on the pedigree of Mæcenas by the fame hand. The notes are few and short, the author apprehending that his profe interpretation, being as much as poffible clear and explanatory, in a great measure precluded the necessity of annotations

With regard to the original text, he has in general followed the edition of Mr. Bond, which, he says, is much admired for its accuracy among scholars abroad.

He has omitted, or given an inoffenfive turn to all those paffages which have a tendency to fuggeft immodeft ideas; tho' he has not been fo extremely fcrupulous in this point, as fome

fupercilious

fupercilious and unmerciful editors of Horace, who have expunged feventeen of the odes and epodes, befides many passages in others.which they thought exceptionable.

III. Obfervations and Inquiries relating to various Parts of ancient Hiftory; containing Differtations on the Wind Euroclydon, and on the Island Melite, together with an Account of Egypt in its most early State, and of the Shepherd Kings: Wherein the Time of their coming, the Province which they particularly poffeffed, and to which the Ifraelites afterwards fucceeded, is endeavoured to be flated. The whole calculated to throw Light on the Hiftory of that ancient Kingdom, as well as on the Hiftories of the Affyrians, Chaldeans, Babylonians, Edomites, and other Nations. By Jacob Bryant. 410. Pr. 16. T. Payne.

TH

HE learned author of these Obfervations may be confi dered as the reviver of a sect, which, about a century ago, diftinguished themselves by their researches into antiquity. Modern times have produced few publications equal to the recondite erudition which this contains: but, like virtue, learning is its own reward; for we are afraid that the fevere, abftrufe appearance of this gentleman's favourite topics will make but few converts to ftudies which stand, almost, unconnected with any other part of literature.

Mr. Bryant, with great modefty, though with well grounded refolution, attacks three refpe&able names in learning, Bochart, Grotius, and Bentley, on account of the word Euroclydon, the name of a wind mention'd in the 14th verse of the 27th chapter of the Acts of the Apoftles. The three venerable critics we have mentioned, but Bentley particularly, fuppose, that the word Euroclydon is a mifnomer, and ought to be read Euroaquilo. We shall not enter into any difcuffion of the fea-terms by which Bentley fupports his emendation, though we are of opinion, with this author, that it is not right to deviate from the original text, and admit of any alteration, merely because a word is new to us. St. Paul was in a ship of Alexandria, then the most trading city in the world; and, according to Mr. Bryant, Dr. Bentley's capital mistake lies in fuppofing the fhip to have been navigated by Romans inftead of Greeks, who very probably had many cant words, or technical terms in their profeffion, which are now quite unknown to us. This obferva

on must appear just to any one who is the least acquainted with fea-language. In fhort, Mr. Bryant, by a variety of curious criticifins, has, we think, unanswerably demolished Bentley's emendation, and faved the prefent reading..