the ftratagems of a hero. Thou art as swift as a deer on the moun"tain or a fifh in the waters. Thy hearing is as good as the hearing "of a roe; and thy eyes are fharper than the eyes of an eagle, which " is without a rival among the birds of heaven." Thefe confirm what we have formerly mentioned, "That the idea of divine attributes among a people is taken from human perfections, and that, among all nations, heaven is the picture of the earth, and God the image of man." "What can we reafon but from what we know?" Upon the whole, Mr. Grant is an inftructive and entertaining writer. In fubjects that have been often investigated and difcuffed, novelty is not always to be expected; but when our author does not give us new opinions, he gives us new illuftrations. To thofe who have a juft tafte for the study of antiquities, and who, instead of employing their attention on the ruft of coins, the crumbling of urns, and the dust of monuments, carry their refearches into manners, customs, and laws, this volume will furnish a fund of rational and elegant pleasure. The ftile of our author is perfpicuous, fpirited, and often elegant, though occafionally marked with those antiquated and obfolete phrafes, which by the courtefy of England are called Scotticifms; though all of them, except a few that have originated from the courts of law, are to be found in the tranflation of the bible, and in the works of Shakespeare. ART. II. Propriety afcertained in ber Picture; or, Inglish Speech and Spelling rendered mutual Guides, fecure alike from diftant, and from domeftic, Error. In Two Volumes: Won afcertaining Propriety in her Picture; dhe adder fyftematizing Scotticism, and every deviacion from Inglife Purity. By James Elphinston. 4to. 11. 1s. boards. Walter. London. WE are informed, by an aftronomer, who flourished at the beginning of the century, and whofe fyftem differs, in fome particulars, from that of Sir Ifaac Newton, that the ob The fons of Titan and Tellus, according to ancient fable, were giants of monftrous fize, who waged war against Jupiter and the gods. One of them, called Briareus, was feigned by the poets to have an hundred arms and fifty heads. We find, that among the Caledonians a fimilar tradition prevailed. A Briareus was not unknown in their legendary tales. But his heads were not fo numerous as thofe of the antagonist of Jupiter: the body of the Caledonian Briareus supported only five heads. This alludes to the qualities of cunning and artifice in war, which are esteemed virtues among rude nations. CC 4 Leurity fcurity which takes place in the night is not owing to the absence of the fun, but to a fet of malignant ftars, which, at that time, afcend the hemifphere, and ray down darkness upon the earth. Without calling in queftion fuch an uncommon authority in phyfics, we may apply his obfervation to the literary world, and remark the number of thefe tenebrificous ftars, which have lately rifen on our horizon, and diffused their black influence on the age. Whether we turn our eyes to Lord Monboddo's discoveries in natural history; the pious efforts of Lord George Gordon; the patriotic writings of Mr. Wilkes; the critical researches of Robert Heron, Efq.; or to the recent improvements in writing ancient hiftory, and modern biography; and the namelefs and numberlefs departments in the works of the unlearned; we fhall be fully convinced, that, in radiations of obfcurity, the prefent age yields to none of the past; and that, instead of a few caliginous conftellations, we have now a galaxy of darkness. Among these luminaries, which derive their origin, like lucus a non lucendo, Mr. James Elphinfton has long held a diftinguished place. His tranflation of Martial's Epigrams, into fuch English as no Englishman can understand, gave a promife of that meridian of his genius, in which he has now endeavoured to involve the world. Reader, we would tranfcribe the dedication and the preface to this book, but we are afraid that thou canst not read, nor underftand, either the one or the other; but, for thy fatisfaction, as well as our own, we fhall felect the eafieft, as well as the moft learned paffage, in this most wonderful work. But evvery tung, howevver defcended, adapts dhe found to her own harmony; and evvery pen, delinneating truith, adapts dhe fymbol to' dhe found. Dhe Greek and Lattin Jupiter compounded, widh dhe Hebrew idea, paternity; dhe Saxon Thor or Tor exhibited hiz dominnion. If evver name demanded continnuance ov fymbol, widh chainge ov found, Thorfday muft hay precluded dhe appearance ov Thursday. Yet truith, hoo conftellates dhe attributes ov her Author, cood not hav had her perfet work, had the not chainged dhe femblance widh dhe fubftance ov dhe name. Mor, or Maur, differed but in a letter, nor much more in idea, from Tor, or Taur. Dhe former, in perhaps evvery primmitive diccion, implying grait; in won herd and feen more, in anoddher mare (not to mencion defcendant varriacions) figgured dhe main, dhe vaft (expanfe) not onely ov wauter, but ov erth, air, or fire. Dho common etty mollogy wood bring mare, widh amarus, in fpite ov dheir oppozite quantity, from (marah) bitter; an idea dhe aincients figguratively interchainged widh briny; and more, or moar, from dhe murky hue, dhe mere accident ov fittuación; nedher wil extinguifh dhe orrigin ov dhe Gaulic or Brittish mor, or maur, obviously dhe fame in dhe fimpel Inglish more or ioar, extended heath; and in đhe more or moar (alfo formerly seen moor) ov Mauritania, hware iz now Morocco: dhe immenfe re gion, gion, hwich contained Mount Atlas, and lent poetry her ezy fabel, conftituting dhat lofty fovverain intimate widh hiz neighbors dhe stars; and hiz unwearied fholders dhe fuppoarters ov dhe hevvens. Mor dhen, or Maur, cood hav no rival but Tor, or Taur, in dhe aincient (Eaftern, Grecian, or Roman) world. Dhe Andes wer yet unknown. If Mor and Tor differed fo littel, Tor and dhe Perfian or Grecian Cyr (or Kyr) hwence Cyrus, fire, and fir, varied dhe mute, but like dhe Dorians in Tore and Toxa (tote and toca). Nor verry distant from Tor, or Thor, waz dhe Egypcian Tot, or Thoth; widh or widhout thricegraiteft (like moaft-highest), az dhus dhey named dheir Mercury. Nay, fetting afide (at least for a moment) all oddher ettymollogies ov dhis name, might it not compound boath Mor and Cyr (or Tor), dhe grait (or expanfive) Power, or Lord; and so justify dhe interpretacion ov Mercury's pooting out dhe eyes ov Argus, and taking dhe care of Io; az dhe fun extinguishes dhe ftars, and fucceedes to' dhe fuperin. tendance ov dhe erth? If Mor, or Mar, might dhus compound won name ov Mercury; certain it iz dhat Tor, or Taur, widh or widhout terminacion, came to' fignify Bacchus, or anny lord; from dhe Lord of dhe universe, evvery erthly lord; even dhe jellous lord Taurus, hoo commanded Afia, az did Atlas, or Maurus Affric; down (in Gaulic, Greek, Lattin, French, and fellow-diccions) to' dhe fearles az potent lord ov dhe herd. Hence dhe butifool, dho feemingly grotesk picture, not onely of Pafipphar, hoo beamed her light on all, by fo confpiccuously looving her Bool, her Lord Minos, and producing dhe proddigy ov dhe Minnotaur; but dhat, ftil fuperior, ov JUPITER and EUROPA. Fancy had but to fein Tor, or Taur (dhe lord ov Crete, az ov dhe world affuming dhe shape ov a bool, dhe higheft dhat ov dhe lowest lord; in order to bring from Pheniscia (nearly dhe center, nor far from dhe foarce of human light) Europa, wide profpect, or intellectual expanfion; dhe wel-conceived fifter ov Cadmus, hoo (doutles by dhe aid ov hiz confort Harmania) braught letters to' dhe western hemmifphere. Happy children ov dhe happy king AGENOR! hoo might be emminently tiled much a man; a man much beyond oddher men, in guivving fuch improovers to mankind. Hooevver fancies orthoggraphy to' hav lost herself, wil charritably bring her bac; but hooevver wants more ov Mount Taurus, may find an extenfive proluzion, in dhe inveftigators comment on Marfial; hware Mercury, dhe Ammazons, and oddher myttholodgical carracters, ar treated (for dhe fame cauz, dhat here delinneates orthoggraphy) in a fimmilarly oridginal manner.' Similar attempts to rectify the English language (agreeable to the method of rectifying British fpirits by mixing them with vitriol) have been made, of late years, to the great danger of the orthography, orthoepy, and grammar of our language. St. Stephen's chapel, without any fufpicion of criminality, has added many truisms to this returning chaos of abfurdity; and the publicity of the crime has now become fo glaring, that we fhould lay open to the cenfure of the critical world, if we did not iffue our EDICT and PROCLAMATION against this growing corruption, which we pledge ourselves to the public to carry into rigorous execution. Το દ TO THE LITERARY WORLD. "WHEREAS it has been reprefented to us, by our dearly and well-beloved coufins, the Bookfellers of London, "that fundry riotous and diforderly perfons, not having the fear of Criticifm before their eyes, and led aftray by the malice and inftigation of the devil, have, contrary to the laws of this, and every well-governed realm, deliberately, malicioufly, and traiteroufly confpired against their MOTHER "TONGUE, and endeavoured to clip, coin, and otherwise "debafe the CURRENT LANGUAGE of this kingdom, to the great annoyance and confufion of our loyal and faithful 66 fubjects, the vowels and confonants of Great-Britain and "Ireland: And, as it appears to us that the English language, in its prefent form, fuch as it has been tranfmitted to us by the wisdom of our ancestors, improved by so many excellent pens, matured on fo many brilliant pages, and cemented by fuch a profufion of ink, is fufficient to exprefs all the lawful ideas which are the genuine growth or manufacture of thefe kingdoms; We, therefore, do ftrictly prohibit and interdict all fuch practices in time coming, and "abfolutely command every perfon, or perfons, who shall hereafter write, fcribble, or fcrawl, in folio, quarto, octavo, "duodecimo, or infra, to abstain, refrain, and defift from "fuch unlawful, difloyal, and treasonable attempts, on pain of "incurring our heaviest displeasfure, and fuffering fuch pu"nifhment as we in our wifdom and justice shall inflict; it being always understood and permitted, that all the female penmen, and learned fpinfters, of this ifland, who, by a moderate computation, do not exceed ten thousand perfons arrived at the years of difcretion, fhall have free ingrefs, egrefs, and regrefs, to all the letters of the alphabet, and fhall be allowed to conjugate or decline in all poffible moods, cafes, "and times, as if no fuch edict or decree had paffed; PRO 46 VIDED that they obtain a verdict, from a jury of their peers, "declaring them to be handfome: A fine mouth will ferve as "an apology for the falfe English which it conveys; a white "hand will excufe the errors of the pen which it conducts; "and bright eyes will make atonement for a faux pas in any part of the grammar, except-amo.”. ART. ART. III. Bozzy and Piozzi, or the British Biographers, a Town Eclogue. By Peter Pindar, Efq. 4to. 2s. 6d. Kearney. London. 1786. THE HE character of Dr. Johnson has been exposed to much ridicule, by the injudicious minuteness of his biographers. They have pursued him into every retreat, watched each unguarded moment, and expofed him in every fituation, to the public eye. That veil which human weaknefs requires has been wantonly drawn afide, and the nakedness of their idol difcovered. Every confideration muft give place to the infatiable voracity of an anecdote-hunter; who, without any object but the fatisfaction of his appetite, fwallows and difembogues his trash with equal want of tafte and difcrimination. The only impreffion which these lackies of literature have left on the public, is a confirmation of what has been faid long ago, that no man is a hero to his valet de chambre." By recording every burft of paffion, every inftance of peevifhnefs, prejudice, and coarfe impertinence, they have funk him below his proper level. They have acted as abfurdly as a painter, who should pretend to give a faithful portrait by watching every distortion of the features he is to reprefent, and delineating them on the canvas. Like the Roman patriot, they have affaffinated their friend, without benefit to the public; and to them the " Tu Brute!" of Cæfar may be justly applied. 66 In these circumftances, Mrs. Piozzi and Mr. Bofwell come under the poetical lafh of Peter Pindar: out of their own mouths has he condemned them. They are fuppofed to have in contemplation the Life of Johnson; and to prove their biographical abilities, appeal to Sir John Hawkins for his decifion on their refpective merits, by quotations from their printed anecdotes of the Doctor. Sir John hears them with uncommon patience, and determines very properly on the pretenfions of the contending parties' Even Sir John, unable to fupport the ennui produced by the dullness and futility of the anecdotes, is obliged to fufpend the conteft for a time, and refresh himself with a comfortable nap. During his fleep, Johnson thus addreffes him: • Wake Hawkins, (growl'd the Doctor with a frown) His mind, a paper kite-compos'd of feraps; Juft |