from the Arabic, by M. P. RoUZEE. Translated from Notice of Idyllia Heroica Decem, Librum Phaleuciorum Unum, partim jam primo partim iterum atque tertio edit SAVAGIUS LAN DOR. Accedit Quæstiuncula cur poëtæ Oxford Latin Prize Essay, for 1822 :—An re vera præva- luerit apud eruditiores antiquorum Polytheismus. By Reply of BOINTOS to E. H. BARKER Notice of the Pamphlets of Eubulus and Philograntus, E. H. BARKERI Amoenitates Criticæ et Philologicæ. No. III.:-De Advv. desinentibus in ei et i.- De Particula Nn: de Adj. Nndens: de Alcman. et Callim. Fragmm. -On the Pronunciation of the Greek Language Remarks on the Examination of the Primary Argument of the Iliad; and on the History of the Eolic Digamma. ADVERSARIA LITERARIA, No. xxx.-Verses by Lord Carlisle; to Lady Holland, on the Snuff-box bequeathed to her by Bonaparte: Idem Græce redditum-Arcadian Asses Cumulus-Εἰς μνήμην Εῤῥικέττης Ταπαρέλλης : Idem Latinè redditum-Th. Valperga Ode ad Fortu- Notice of The Spirit of the Gospel, or the Four Evange- lists Elucidated by Explanatory Observations, Histori- cal References, and Miscellaneous Illustrations; by the Rev. W. S. GILLY, A. M............... Notice of Idyllia Heroica Decem, Librum Phaleuciorum Unum, partim jam primo partim iterum atque tertium Observations on that part of a work, intitled Empedoclis et Parmenidis Fragmenta ex codice Taurinensis Biblio- thecæ restituta et illustrata, ab AMEDEO PEYRON, Lipsia, 1810, in which the author treats of the genuine An Inquiry into the Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology. Part vIII. By R. P. KNIGHT Oxford English Prize Essay, for 1822:-The Study of Criseos Mythologica Specimen. C. O. MULLER Notice of Thucydidis de Bello Peloponnesiaco Libri Octo. Ad optimorum Codicum fidem, adhibitis doctorum viro- rum observationibus, recensuit, Summariis et Notis illus- On the Orations ascribed to Cicero.-Notice of M. Manilii Astronomicon Libri Quinque. Cum Commentariis et Castigationibus Josephi Scaligeri, Jul. Cæsaris Scal. Fil. S. Junii Biturigis, et Fayi; his accedunt Bentleii Quadam Animadversiones reprehensione digna; quibus 318 Coll. Cantab. aliquando Socii. Londini, 1783. [Extract- ed from the London Magazine, 1785.].. Itinerary of Achmed ben El Hassen, from Fas to Tafilelt; translated, with explanatory notes, by J. G. JACKSON Remarks on Mr. Bellamy's New Translation of the Old Prolusio Epigraphica de Inscriptione Græca in Museo In Euripidei Phaethontis Fragmenta Notæ. G. B. .... 366 Notice of Decimi J. Juvenalis et A. Persii Flacci Satira: ex Edd. Ruperti et Kanig, expurgata. Accedunt, in ADVERSARIA LITERARIA, No. xxxI.-Classical Criti- cism-Epigrammata, Epitaphia, variorum, No. 111. &c. 396 On the Ancient Division of the Universe; by R. NARES 404 Notice of Considerations on the Nature and Tendency of Classical Literature, with Remarks on the Discipline in the Grammar School at Bradford, York. By the Rev. ERRATA IN NO. LI. CLASSICAL JOURNAL. N. LI. SEPTEMBER, 1822. NOTICE OF The SATIRES of AULUS PERSIUS FLACCUS, translated into English Verse. By W. GIFFORD, Esq. With Notes and Illustrations, and the Latin Text. London, Murray. THERE is perhaps no Latin poet, of whom it would be more difficult to give a translation at once faithful to the original, and acceptable to the English reader, than Persius. Even in his own language, it must be confessed, he is not the most inviting of Roman writers; and in rendering the satirical poetry of another country, it is impossible, from the diversity of national manners, to preserve the full force of many of the local allusions which lie thickly scattered throughout such compositions, and not least so in our author; not to mention, that in the case of an ancient writer, many of these allusions must necessarily have become obscure or unintelligible. Another cause of failure is the incongruity of our modern phrases and appellations with the ideas which, in such a translation, they are intended to convey. The language of sentiment and exalted passion is, to a great extent, the same in all ages and countries. The serious poet appeals to feelings and perceptions which have an existence, more or less, in every mind; and the words which he employs have, accordingly, their corresponding words in other languages, which may be substituted for them without any great loss of expressiveness. But the humorous writer, besides the general topics of ridicule which are common to all countries and states of society, addresses himself to such a multitude of local and temporary associations, that although with the help of a comVOL. XXVI. NO. LI. CI. JI. A ment it is frequently possible, to translate his meaning, and even some portion of his spirit, into another language, yet the true point of the jest-the undefinable something, which constituted the peculiar zest of the passage in the perceptions of contemporary readers, is gone. The body of wit remains, but the subtle essence is flown. Add to this the number of colloquial idioms, for which it is difficult to find substitutes in another language. Hence the obscurity of Aristophanes and the Roman satirists, when compared with the serious poets in both languages. And hence it is, that imitations of the above writers, in which the outline of the original, and the train of thought, are retained, with an adaptation of the allusions and incidents to modern times (such as those of Pope, Johnson, and the writer before us) have uniformly been more popular than translations of the original works. And when to the above disadvantages we add the defects of the poet himself, and of his subject; the little interest with which modern readers regard the events and characters of the age of Nero, compared with those of the republican times; the harshness and affected brevity of Persius' manner, which it is impossible entirely to disguise even in a translation; his abrupt transitions, and his want of artificial arrangement; it will not be thought surprising that Persius, though fortunate in many of his translators, has not acquired an extraordinary share of popularity. Yet is Persius, to an intelligent reader, not without his interest. There is an inborn spirit of poetry showing itself amidst all his defects, like light struggling through clouds. As a portraiture of the manners of a distant age, and one of which scarce any other record remains, his writings will always command attention; and the air of earnestness and sincerity with which he promulgates his moral doctrines, as the present translator observes, although it may fail to convince, ensures our respect. Neither was the philosophical system which he adopted destitute of poetical capabilities. We are no admirers of the Stoical doctrine; neither are we insensible of its injurious practical tendency in more than one point of view. Stoicism was the fanaticism of philosophy; and while, on the one hand, the singular 'privileges it was supposed to confer generated pride in its professors, on the other, its extravagant requisitions and repulsive notions of virtue, may have reconciled some to vice, from a despair of ever attaining that perfect emancipation from moral evil, which the Porch demanded as a sine qua non; an effect likewise produced by the puritanism of later times. Still there is, in the better parts of the system, an air of generosity and ele |