agree with them. The arguments which his differtations contain, appear to us lefs found than dazzling; and his thoughts are, we think, frequently far fetched, not to fay puerile. But to return to his tranflator. In order to give fuch a view of Mr. T.'s labour as may at once enable every man to judge for himfelf, and may free us from the neceffity of any further quotations, we shall make a copious extract from the differtation on philofophic difcourfe, which ftands as the 12th in the prefent tranflation, and as the 28th in the edition of Davies and Markland. We have made choice of this, from an opinion that it is, in itself, inferior to none which Maximus has written.

"These imitations, however, are not only adulterated and unpleasant to the view, but are not altogether fit to be heard by feafted fouls. Hence neither do I praise the Ænean* fpectacles, by which the Eneans in Pontus are delighted, where fome are actors and others fpectators. Two men imitate a battle, while another at the fame time plays on the pipe: one of thefe is a huf bandman and ploughs, another is a robber and has arms. The hufbandman also has arms near him, and when the robber approaches, laying afide his plough, he runs to his arms. They clofe and fight, ftriking each other on the face, and imitating wounds and falling on the ground,fpectacles by no means convivial. I prefer to thefe the ancient Perfian law, through which the Perfians acquired freedom. Confultations were adopted by the Perfians at their banquets in the fame manner as by the Athenians in their Attic affemblies. The law alfo punished intoxi-. tation, exciting their virtues at entertainments juft as oil excites fire; irrigating the foul with fuch fymmetry, that its ambition might neither be perfectly extinguished, nor enkindled beyond what is fit. But here our fober orators, as they are under no reftraint from the law with refpect to freedom of fpeech, dance in affemblies in a manner more intemperate than all intoxication. Let us, however, now difinifs the Perfians and Athenians, and return to our fubject.

"Worthy fouls, therefore, are to be feafted with difcourfes, but not with fuch as are forenfic. With what others then? Shall we fay with those which recal the foul to former times, and which afford them the fpectacle of ancient tranfactions. For hiftory is alluring, and it is delightful to be able without weariness to wander about every where, to furvey all countries, to be prefent with fecurity in all battles, to contract the immenfe extent of ages into a thort compafs, and to learn an infinite multitude of

See Eurip. Iphig. in Aul. ver, 277. Elian, Var. Hift. iii. 1. and Xenoph. de Expedit. Cyri, lib. vi. cap. i. 4.

D 2

tranfactions

tranfactions in a little time, fuch as thofe of the Affyrians, Egyp tians, Perfians, Medes, and Grecians. Now being prefent with thofe that war upon land, at another time with naval battles in the fea, and again at another with counsellors in conventions; joining with Themistocles in naval engagements, ranked in bat. tle with Leonidas, paffing over the fea with Agefilaus, and faved with Xenophon; loving with Panthea*, hunting with Cyrus, and exercifing royal authority with Cyaxares. If, indeed, Ulyffes was a wife man because he poffeffed great verfatility of manners, and,

"Wand'ring from clime to clime, obfervant ftray'd,
Their customs noted, and their states survey'd:

On ftormy feas unnumber'd toils he bore,

Safe with his friends to gain his native shore +."

He is much more wife who, beyond the reach of danger, fills himself with history: who fees Charybdis, but not in a fhipwreck; hears the Syrens, but without being bound, and meets with a cyclops, but one peaceably difpofed. If Perfeus alfo was happy because he was winged, and, foaring in æther, furveyed all the calamities and regions in the earth, hiftory is much lighter and more elevated than the wings of Perfeus, which, receiving the foul, carries it about every where, and does not point out to it things fluggishly nor negligently, but genealogizes men. Such as,Crafus was a Lydian by birth, the fon of Alyattis, and the tyrant of nations." And, "from cloud-compelling Jove Dardanus derived his origin f." It alfo genealogizes cities, as Epidamnus is a city fituated on the right-hand to those that fail to the Ionian bay, and the Taulantii, a barbarous people, dwell near it." And " the city Ephyre is fituated in the receffes of Argus, the nourisher of horfes ¶." It likewife genealogizes rivers, as, "which flowing from the meridian parts towards the north wind, falls into what is called the Euxine fea **." And

"Which the gods Xanthus, men Scamander call ++.”

"Panthea was the wife of Abradates, a king of Sufa, and was a moft modest and beautiful woman. Abradates, when he was taken prifoner by Cyrus, furrendered himfelf and his troops to the conqueror. He was killed in the first battle he undertook in the caufe of Cyrus, and Panthea ftabbed herfelf on his corpfe. Xenoph. Cyrop. 5, 6, &c."

+ Odyf. i. 3, 5.”

冬舍

"Thefe are the words of Herodotus, i. 6."

"Iliad, xx. ver. 215."

This is taken from Thucydides, lib. i. p. 17. ed. Wechel."

"Iliad, vii. ver. 152.”

"Herodotus, lib. i. cap. vi."

++ “Iliad, xx, ver. 74.”

The

The narration of these things, through the affiftance of memory, preferves the human race, which is diurnal, and is rapidly corrupted and diffipated, and perpetually flowing, guards its virtues, and makes its actions immortal through renown, Through this Leonidas is not only celebrated by the Lacedæmonians of his time, and Themistocles is not only praifed by the Athenians his contemporaries, but the military fway of Pericles and the juftice of Ariftides remain even now; Critias now fuffers punishment, and Alcibiades now flies his country. In short, hiftorical narrations are to the hearer moft delightful with refpect to pleasure, and to the fpectator moft alluring with refpect to recollection. What banquet then can be more agreeable to the foul than fuch relations as thefe? It is difficult, indeed, to oppofe many, and thefe illuftrious hiftorians; but, at the fame time, we must say, Your harmony, O Hiftorians, is beautiful and most alluring, but a worthy foul defires fomething elfe, and not fuch delights as you afford. For what is there venerable in the record of antient evils to him who has not yet learnt how these are to be avoided? or what advantage do the Athenians derive from the Attic history, or the Halicarnaffenfes from the Ionic history? or in what are the Chians more happy through this? For if hiftorians, diftinguishing things worthy from fuch as are bafe, concealed fome and related others, the foul would be benefited by the imitation of historical transactions in the fame manner as the eye by the imitation of painting. But now all things are pro. mifcuously mingled in their relations, the worfe abounds, and the bafe has dominion. Hence the greater part of hiftory is full of tyrants, unjust enemies, irrational felicity, bafe actions, ftupid calamities, and tragical circumstances. Of all these the imita tion is infecure, the memory dangerous, and the mifery im mortal.

"I indeed defire, in order to be fully feafted, the nutriment of falubrious difcourfes, and require fuch fane food as procured health to Socrates and Plato, to Xenophon and Afchines. The foul of man defires and fears, grieves and envies, and is poffeffed by other all-various and monftrous paffions. You fee a fedition bit. ter, and which no crier has proclaimed. Relate to me fuch a war as this, but difmifs that of the Medes. Relate to me this difeafe, but difmifs peftilence. Tell me to whom I fhall commit the command and the care of this war. Leave Hippocrates to bodies and Themiftocles to the fea. Tell me of a phyfician, tell me of a commander for the foul; and if you are dubious with refpect to men, enquire among the gods. Enquire, but not concerning land which is plundered, nor fea which is infefted

"Maximus by the Attic and Ionic hiftories alludes to those of Xenophon and Thucydides."

with pirates, nor walls which are befieged, nor bodies which are corrupted: thefe are trifling, thefe are diurnal. Your crops may be laid wafte, though the Peloponnefians refrain from them. The fea may be infefted with pirates, though the Athenians fhould not engage in a naval battle. Walls will be thrown down, if not by Philip, yet by time: and bodies will be cor. rupted, though peftilence fhould be abfent:

"But virtue loft can never be regain'd *.'

About this confult the gods, when the foul is wounded, plundered, befieged, difeafed. Here you have occafion for an oracle, here you have need of divination. Pray to the god:

"O thou: whofe fway the fhores of Chryfa own,
God of the filver bow, regard my prayer +."

Hear me, O Apollo and Jupiter; or if there is any other god who is the phyfician of the difeafed foul:

"If e'er with wreaths I hung thy facred faue,

Or fed the flames with fat of oxen flain ‡:"'

Apollo will hear a prayer of this kind fwifter than he did that of Chryfes. For you do not call the god to inflict peftilence, nor to emit deadly arrows, which may deftroy dogs, and men, and mules for thefe are not the works of a mufical, wife, and prophetic god. But Homer afcribes thefe to Apollo, obfcurely fignifying the folar rays, which pervade the air fwifter than any arrow, and are far more unmingled than the fymmetry of bodies. Let, however, Homer, or Hefiod, or fome other divine poet, fing for me the god who can heal the maladies of the foul. Thefe things are worthy of Apollo, thefe are worthy of Jupiter." P. 124. vi

The above paffage furnifhes fome inftances of those inaccuracies of which this and every other tranflation that has been executed by Mr. T. furnishes fo abundant an harvest. In the fift place, of a very important obfervation of the author, no notice is taken. Maximus fays,

"This is a parody of the Homeric verfe. Iliad x. ver. + "Ibid. 39."

408."

+Iliad i. ver. 37."

$ "The arrows of Apollo are fymbols of the folar rays; and the folar rays are to be confidered as nothing more than inftrumental cafes, employed for the purposes either of benefiting or punishing mankind, or in fhort of accomplishing the decrees of fate, by that deity who prefides in the fun, and who is the fource of all fenfible and intellectual light and harmony."

"The Perfians deliberated on their affairs at their feafts, in the fame manner as the Athenians did in their affemblies. And a Perfian feaft was much better regulated than an Athenian afembly. The original is 'Ανήκειντο τοῖς Πέρσαις αἱ βουλαὶ εἰς τὰς εὐωχίας, ὥσπερ τοις Αθηναίοις εἰς τὰς ἐκκλησίας, και σπουδαςικώτερον ἦν συμπόσιον Περσικὸν ἐκκλησίας Αττικής. Ρ. 337. Ed. Dav.

It is, indeed, remarkable that Heinfius, in his verfion of this author, has been guilty of the fame omiffion. We might hence be led to fufpect, that the English tranflator had his eye upon the Latin. That in many cafes he has truffed to that alone, and thence committed fome ridiculous miftakes we shall fhortly evince: but at prefent we forbear.

What Mr. T. means by the following fentence, which is clofely connected with that above noticed, we candidly confels ourselves to be ignorant.

"The law alfo punished intoxication, exciting the virtues at entertainments juft as oil excites fire; irrigating the foul with such fymmetry, that its ambition might neither be perfectly extinguished nor enkindled beyond what is fit."

What, Mr. T., do you wish your readers to understand by "irrigating the foul with fymmetry?" And by what procefs is this effected? You, in your profound attainments, may have learned it but to us, and we will venture to predict, to the majority of readers, Epunvέws xalia, it is indeed perfectly unintelligible. The truth is, Maximus intends to affign his reafons for pronouncing a Perfian feaft to be better regulated (ovdasınálepov) than an Athenian affembly. His words are έκει μὲν γὰρ νόμος κολάζων τὴν μέθην ἐπήγειρει αυτῶν τὰς ἀρειὰς τῇ εὐωχία, καθάπερ ἔλαιον πῦρ, ἐπιχέων τῇ ψυχῇ συμμέτρως, μὴ τελείως σβεννὺς αὐτῆς τὸ φιλόλιμον, μήτε ἐξαπίων της χρείας περαιτέρω. That is, " For there (at the Perfian fealls) the law reftraining inebriety, by means of the feaft excited their virtues; as oil does fire, giving to their minds a moderate degree of exhilaration; not entirely extinguifhing its ambitious principle, and yet not enflaming it beyond what is fit." This is fufficiently clear, and no man lefs fkilful than Mr. T. could have involved fo plain a fentence in fo great obfcurity. This talent he has exercifed alfo in the fentence which follows the preceding.

66

"But here our fober orators, as they are under no reftraint from the law with refpect to freedom of fpeech, dance in affemblies in a manner more intemperate than all intoxication."

We did not know before that orators danced in the forum of Athens and we believe Maximus was as little acquainted