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prejudice nor prepoffeffion. Her piety is mafculine like her courage, and her reign is fo wonderful, that fable itself can add nothing to it.' Truth and modefty are here fuppofed to be infulted and sported with by Reafon itfelf!-But it is not Reafon that offers fuch naufeous adulation at the fhrine of princes. It is the Marquis Carraccioli. And it is the fame vain man, who, in offering incenfe to others, feems to think that a large proportion of it belongs to himfelf.-It is he (we fay), and not Reason, that drew the following picture, and called it the King of Denmark's. Lucidor (for that's the travelling name of Reafon) found himself in the midft of Copenhagen. He was charmed there to find a young monarch, who had the maturity of old men, and whofe underftanding, formed by travelling and reading, will one day enlighten his dominions.'

After having tripped through Europe, Reafon fits down to give a fummary detail of the obfervations made in its light and volatile excurfions. Lucidor went among fome fteep mountains, where he repaffed in his mind whatever his eyes had seen : and then it was that he reflected on that number of paffions, projects, and whims, which agitaté cities and courts, and which, under the mafque of a love for public good, produce the most fingular events, and often the most monitrous ones."

From the catalogue of profound judgments formed by our fagacious traveller, we fhall prefent our Readers with the first and the laft.

He judged that the age gave much into what is merely fuperficial: that people were lefs fond of diving into the bottom of things, than of flightly fkimming them over: that men of real learning were as fearce as the number of men of wit was increased that a love of novelty made people invent things as abfurd as they are ridiculous: that under pretence of aiming at the beft, very often burlefque changes were made: that the fenfes ufurped the place of the foul that the neceffary was neglected to hunt after the fuperfluous: that people allowed themfelves every thing, because they durft do every thing.-Independ ence is the ruin of all good order!' Laftly, he judged, that his own remarks, though thofe of REASON itself, would not please all characters, because every man has his own way of feeing and thinking.-There never was yet a book that pleased every body."

The Author will judge us unreasonable Critics :-but as we do not form our judgment by his Reason, we fhall lodge our appeal with a higher court.-'Tis not what a thing is called, but what it is. Now this is a touch in his own proverbial way: and with this we bid him heartily-FAREWELL!

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ART. VII. Practice common-placed: or the Rules and Cafes of Practice in the Courts of King's Bench and Common Pleas, methodically arranged. By Geo. Crompton, Efq; of the Inner Temple. 8vo. 2 Vols. 16 s. bound. Uriel. 1780.

THE evident utility of Books of Practice (fo called, not in oppofition to the principles of law, but because they treat of the methods of commencing and profecuting fuits that are in conftant ufe in the different courts, and of the rules by which they are regulated) has given currency to very indifferent publications on this fubject. The truth is, this, like many other very useful fubjects, has nothing in it to captivate writers of eminence or ambition. It affords little room for fancy to enliven, and little fcope for eloquence to adorn. It has accordingly been left to inferior hands, to whom profit was a greater object than reputation. And a celebrated Commentator is well warranted in aflerting concerning those numerous treatises which have already been publifhed, that in point of compofition and folid inftruction they are pretty much upon a level.'

*

We are therefore happy to obferve, that the work now before us appears to be the production of a man of real abilities and merit, and the refult of an accurate acquaintance with this branch of the law. The extent of Mr. Crompton's plan, so far as it is comprized in these two volumes, is fet forth in his Preface. The first volume (he informs us) he has defigned for the rules and cafes of practice throughout a civil action ;. for with criminal matters he has not at all interfered; and his fecond, for proceedings by and against particular persons, and for points of practice in fome particular actions.-The whole he has endeavoured to adapt to modern ufe, and to illuftrate those actions only, which, from the alterations of the law, by the abolition of military tenures, and difufe of real actions, our courts are at this day chiefly called upon to determine.'

It is but juftice to add, that this work, independently of its being lately published, and thereby containing all the recent cafes, has a very confiderable advantage, in exhibiting at one view any diverfities in the practice of the Court of King's Bench and Common Pleas : " + Where the practice of the two courts does not materially differ, the cafes adjudged in them are ingrafted together: but where there is a material difference, each court has its feparate page fronting that of the other, and diftinguifhed by the letters B. R. and C. B. at the top. And this diftinction is carried on from page to page, where the fubject requires it.' This method is kept up without confufion, and

* Blackft. lib. iii,

+ Preface, ib.

the

the whole is compiled with an exactness and fidelity that reflect great credit on Mr. Crompton.

The first volume contains a learned and ingenious differtation, (under the title of Introduction) in which is traced the origin of the jurifdiction of the feveral courts in Westminster-hall; and a chronological view is given of their formation and establishment, as well as of their various alterations, down to the prefent time. From this part of the work the ftudent will derive much valuable inftruction.

ART. VIII. The Works of Lucian, from the Greek, by Thomas Franklin, D. D. fome Time Greek Profeffor in the University of Cambridge. 2 Vols. 4to. 21. 2s. Boards. Cadell. 1780.

IT

T is generally acknowledged, that we have not a good tranflation of Lucian in any modern language; and the reason commonly affigned for this defect, is the difficulty of clothing, with a graceful modern drefs, the wit and humour of antiquity.

In order to render the Greek of Lucian into English, it is not barely fufficient to understand the propriety of the two tongues; it is further neceffary to have imbibed fome portion of the fpirit of that inimitable writer, and to poffefs a turn of genius and fancy fomewhat refembling that of the facetious Syrian. The prefent Tranflator boldly lays claim to these qualities; and to justify his pretenfion, gives us, by way of Preface, a Dialogue between Lucian and Lord Lyttelton, in the Elyfian fields; in which he rivals the ftyle and humour of the ancient author, and, in our opinion, offers a more distinct and probable account of his life and writings than had hitherto appeared in the numerous publications on that fubject.

Luc. By that fhambling gait, and length of carcafe, it must be Lord Lyttelton coming this way.

Lord L. And by that arch look and farcaftic fmile, you are my old friend Lucian, whom I have not feen this many a day. Fontenelle and I have just now been talking of you, and the obligations we both had to our old mafter: I affure you, there was not a man in all antiquity, for whom, whilft on earth, I had a greater regard than yourself.

Luc. Nor is there a modern writer whom I more efteem and respect than the amiable, the elegant, the moral, and virtuous Lord Lyttelton.

Lord L. In this, though Lucian was never remarkable for panegyric, I would fain think you fincere: that I am myfelf fo in what I have faid of you, I have given you, I think, in my life-time, fufficient proof by my Dialogues of the Dead: thofe who flatter a man may deceive, thofe who court may betray; but thofe who take pains to imitate, have certainly the highest esteem for him. I endeavoured to come as nearly to you as I could.

Luc. And were, upon the whole, tolerably fuccefsful; though, to fay the truth (and truth you know is always fpoken in these re

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gions), you are rather too grave to be quite Lucianie, too polite to be merry, and too wife to be very entertaining. I speak with freedom on this head, and the rather, because your Dialogues, however ingenious, are but an inconfiderable part of that large property of literary fame which you acquired, whereas they in reality make up my whole eftate; you can bear therefore better than myself a little deduction from it.

: Lord L. In point of humour and irony, I must acknowlege, I have followed you,

Haud paffibus æquis.

There is a vein of eafe and pleafantry in your works which I have always thought inimitable, nor do I know any author ancient or modern, that in this refpect can enter into competition with you; and yet you are not half so much read, at least amongst us, as many much inferior writers: the true value and admiration of Lucian will, after all, I am afraid, in every age and nation, be confined to the judicious few, who have a kind of claffic reverence for ancient ftory, and an enthufiaftic love of the fabulous and poetical: to thefe his delicate fatire and refined humour will always give inexpreffible pleasure.

Luc. But furely, my friend, general fatire, and true humour (and thefe you are kind enough to grant me), ftand as fair a chance of general approbation as any other fpecies of authorial merit can entitle us to.

Lord L. That, I grant you, is a fair fuppofition, and might have its effect, were it equally true that delicate irony, like yours, were univerfally tafted and underflood; but, as my friend Trifram Shandy fays, "It is not in the power of every man to tafte humour, however he may with it; it is the gift of God."

• Luc. Humour, I grant you, is the gift of heaven, and fo, for aught I know, may be a tafte for it; but you will take this along with you, that whatever is poffeffed by few is always affected, and pretended to, by many: though not one in a thousand has a proper and adequate idea of true humour, yet every one puts in a claim to it: few, therefore, would willingly be thought totally unacquainted with, or difclaim all knowlege of and acquaintance with me; efpecially amongst you Englishmen, of whom humour is faid to be characteristic.

Lord L. It may be fo; but the unlearned have never yet feen you in a good English drefs, and our literati are too proud or too idle to vifit you in your own: they accufe you, befides, of certain faults, which it would ill become mé to mention.

Luc. O pray, my Lord, be not fcrupulous in that point; I took the liberty but just now to cenfure your works, and you have a fair right to retaliate on mine: let us hear what your Alexander's and Peregrinus's have to urge against me.

Lord L. To be plain with you then, my friend, they object that in fome parts of your works there is fome degree of obfcurity.

Luc. Nothing, my Lord, fo obfcures an object as feeing it through a bad medium, that both diftorts and difcolours it; place that, I befeech you, to the blunders of taftelefs and ignorant tranfcribers, who have frequently adulterated my fterling coin, and put their own bafe metal in its ftead; have often taken a great deal of pains to

make

make me speak falfe grammar, bad Greek, and nonfenfe not half fo agreeable as my own; and yet, my fenfe and meaning, in spite of all their interpolations, may in most places, I believe, be fairly made out by the context. But this is by no means the worst treatment which I have received. Translators, critics, and commentators have united to injure, mifreprefent, and difgrace me. I need not point out to your Lordship the dull, imperfect, and unmeaning things which they have imputed to me, and which I never wrote, though they are to be met with in every edition of my works.

Lord L. In this, I own, you are to be pitied; but to have more literary crimes to answer for than you were ever guilty of, is what men of wit and genius must always expect; you have only to comfort yourself with this reflection, that readers of tafte (and fuch only you would wish to please) can easily diftinguish, by internal and indifputable marks, what is really yours from what is falsely afcribed to you. Can any man in his fenfes fuppofe that the humorous author of Timon, Toxaris, and Hermotimus, could ever have thrown away his time and talents in such school-boy declamations as the Tyrant Killer, Harmonides, and the Difinherited Son; or that the avowed enemy of fuperftition and hypocrify, would fo contradi& himself as to enter into a ferious defence of Judicial Aftrology?

Luc. You have forgot the laft, though not the least of their impofitions, the Ocypus, which they have been fo obliging as to compliment me with; this, as I believe I one day hinted to you, was written by a witlefs Sophift, who, encouraged by my fuccefs in the Traga-Podagra (one of my best performances), took upon him to imitate it in that very dull and unentertaining after-piece.

But this is not all that I have to complain of; the fame obliging gentlemen, who have attributed to me what I did not write, have thought proper alfo to rob me of what I really did: fome of them, on the wings not of love but of hatred, have made no fcruple of flying away with my Halcyon, because, forfooth, the bird is too grave for me, "Vix credibile fit (fays one of them), Lucianum de de deorum vi et potentiâ tam rectè fenfiffe, et tam magnifice locutum," it is impoffible that Lucian fhould think fo properly, or fpeak to nobly of the power of the gods."

Lord L. This, indeed, my good friend, was rather hard upon you; but, as our English proverb fays, give a dog an ill name and hang him." You had spoken, however, it must be acknowledged. pretty freely of your Pagan deities; fo freely, indeed, that I have often wondered how you came off with impunity, whilst you lafhed with fo much poignant fatire the established religion of your coun

try.

"Luc. I will tell you, my Lord, how that happened: at the time when I wrote, three parts of thofe whom I wrote to and converfed with were of the fame opinion with myself. I had not only the laugh on my fide, but the majority alfo; add to this, my Lord, that, with regard to matters of this kind, if we ancients had not fo much zeal as you philofophers of latter days, you must allow that we had more good-nature; and, however we might differ amongst ourselves in our religious fentiments, we did not, like you Chriftians, cut one another's throats about them,

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