V. 883. οἷον, οἷον εἶδον ἐν γραφαῖς μέλος φθεγγόμενον τλάμων. μέλος,” says the Professor, " quod proprie de carmine dicitur, denotat luctuosam orationem, querelam, hic et infra v. 1173. ὁ δ ̓ ἦλθε ταὐτὸν δακρύων φέρων μέλος ἡμῖν ἐπ ̓ ἀκταῖς, Iph. Aul. 1279. ταὐτὸν μέλος εἰς ἄμφω πέπτωκε τύχης.” • Μέλος proprie de carmine Lyrico dicitur, quod a Tragedia, carmine heroico, elegiaco, aliisque distinguitur: tales sunt Horatii odæ, et ea, quæ olim Simonides scripsit carmina: Phædrus Fab. 78. Simonides, qui scripsit egregium melos : vox est hæc Latini juris facta, quo etiam utitur Persius: hine Themistius Orat. r. Simonidem μελοποιὸν vocat, et artem pangendi hæc carmina μελογραφίην: hac prima vocis hujus significatio, nota satis, sed non item illa, qua pro prosa oratione sumitur: refert Eurip. in Hipp. v. 878. Phaedram, cum suspendio vitam finivisset, tenuisse manu tabulas, quibus Hippolytum accusabat, οἷον, οἷον εἶδον ἐν γραφαῖς μέλος neque enim verisimile Phædram hanc accusationem, et falsam juvenis modestissimi insimulationem carmine exarasse: rursus v. 117.: atque ita Latini, Rogationis carmen apud Liv. L. 111. c. 64. Recitabatque rogationis carmen, idem L. x. c. 38. Dein jurare cogebatur diro quodam carmine in execrationem capitis familiæque et stirpis composito: simili ratione uvos oratoribus est laudatio, quæ soluta oratione conscripta est: saepius Themistius, ut Orat. v. Δεῦρο ἴτε οὖν ὦ φίλαι Μούσαι, αἱ τὸν νεὸν τὸν βούλιον ἡμῖν συνοικεῖτε, σὺν μοι λάβεσθε τοῦ ὕμνου, ὃν ἀπάρχομαι αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐνάγχος φιλανθρωπία : et rursus, καὶ λιπαρῶς ἔχει τοῦ ἀκομμάτου ὕμνου καὶ ἀκηδύντου: et apertissime Aristides init. Hymni in Jov. ὑπισχνούμενος ὕμνον εὑρεῖν Διὸς, καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἄνευ μέτρου : ita ᾠδὴ et προσαδώ apud Themist. Orat. v., quo modo ex opposito λέγειν, et dicere pro canere Poetæ tam Latini, quam Græci ponunt: hac ex observatiuncula ad yeram causam perveniri posse credo cur veteres, seu recentiores potius, melos carminis dixerint, ut sc. a prosa oratione melos id distinguerent [No such phrase as carminis melos is to be found in the Lexicons of Forcellinus, Gesner, and Faber, which I have examined,] Fulgent. L. 1. Mythol. Laboris tam subita requies melos quoddam carminis exspectabat: nisi quis Græcorum id velit imitatione factum, qui duo vocabula ejusdem plane significationis amant conjungere, ut ὄχοι αρμάτων, vehicula curruum, sunt ἄρματα, apud Eurip. Phaniss. v. 1197. οἶδ ̓ αὖ πας' ἡμῶν δεξιὸν Διὸς τέρας et Hipp. v. 1166. οἰκεῖος αὐτὸν ὤλεσ ̓ ἁρμάτων ὄχος, sed forte ita loquuntur, ut a navibus distinguant; nam xos, sea öxzua, tam de navibus, quam de curribus dicitur [If oxos, as I am inclined to think, be a generic term as applicable to ships, as it is to carriages, then there is no pleonasm at all in the phrase águaτwv xos, though it is true that s may be more commonly used in the sense of a carriage], Aristides in Isthm. Καὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ διπλοῦν ὄχημα ὑπέθηκεν (Neptunus,) ἅρμα μὲν ἐν γῇ, ναῦν δὲ ἐν θαλάττη : quod mihi quidem non displicet; prius tamen magis probatur, cujus locutionis en plura exempla : herba cum vox generalis sit, et omnes ex terra provenientes tenuiores plantas notet, si gramen denotare vellent, graminis herbam dixere, Virg. Ecl. 5. Nec graminis attigit herbam, et herba frumenti legitur Georg. I. v. 134. Et sulcis frumenti quæreret herbam, quomodo etiam Livius herbam de frumento usurpat, Nec ante violavit agrum Campanum, quam jam alta in segetibus herba pabulum præbere poterant, L. XXIII. c. 48.: præterea hyems, cum anni tempestatem, et procellas significet, hyemem anni dixerunt, Neque loco, neque tempore aquo, sed hyeme anni, et intra mania copiosissimi ac solertissimi hostis, Suet. Jul. c. 35.: notat similia in æstate anni Casaubonus, sed rationem non reddit, quæ nulla alia præter illam, quam dixi: Servius ad L. 1. En. v. 126. Hic apertius tempestatem declarat ex Græco; nam et illi xauva tempestatem dicunt, et bene veteres nostri hyemem anni dicebant, ne tempestas posset intelligi: et hinc Virgilium L. 11. Æn. v. 110. Ponti hyemem dixisse vult, Sæpe illos aspera ponti Interclusit hyems, bene addidit, inquit, ponti, quia est et temporis; nam Latinis hyemem, et Græcis Xava, pro tempestate poni non est insolens: Statius L. I. Achil. v. 51. Grandevumque patrem supplex miseranda rogabo Unam hyemem, ubi una hyems est magna et sæva tempestas: unus et unicus pro maximo et gravissimo ponuntur: una cupiditas ap. Cic. L. III. in Verrem explicante Asconio est præcipua, una ira ap. Val. Flac. L. VII. v. 318. Sæpe suas misero promittere destinat artes, Denegat, atque una potius decernit in ira, ubi erat cum legerem toties, ut dicat Medeam nunc hoc, nunc illud consilium cepisse. Hyems autem eo sensu est ap. eund. L. 1. v. 197. ubi Jason Neptuni pacem implorat, quod primus tentarit profundum, Da veniam: scio me cunctis e gentibus unum Illicitas tentare vias, hyememque mereri: apud Græcos nihil frequentius, qui ulterius progressi, bella periculosa, ut et hoc addam, seditionesque xuvas appellant, ut Themist. Orat. 9.; et hinc frequens inter seditiones et tempestates comparatio videatur, Virgil. 1. n. v. 152. et Justin. L. 29. c. 3." G. Cuperi Obs. L. II. c. 10. p. 219-23. V. 1454, Θη. μὴ νῦν προδῷς με, τέκνον, ἀλλὰ καρτέρει. « Anacr. Ode XXIII. v. 3. ἐκαρτέρουν φυλάττων, Barnes. h. l. ita vertit industria uterer accumulans et custodiens, sed vertendum erat perseveranter servarem, zagrage enim est perseverare, ut apud Platon. in Cratylo p. 51. v. 52. κινδυνεύει γὰρ τοιοῦτός τις εἶναι ὁ ̓Αγαμέμνων, οἷος ἂν δόξειεν αὐτῷ διαπονεῖσθαί τε, καὶ καρτερεῖν, et ap. Eurip. in Hipp. v. 1456.: verti etiam posset simpliciter servarem ; καρτερείν enim sape jungitur apud Græc. Scriptores cum participiis, et eundem fere usum praestat, quam μίμνειν : ita construitur apud Soph. in Philoctete v. 1267. πότερα δέδοκταί σοι μένοντι καρτερεῖν, ἢ πλεῖν μεθ ̓ ἡμῶν, utrum tibi certum est manere? et Eurip. in Hec. 1223. ἔχων δὲ καρτερεῖς ἔτ ̓ ἐν δόμοις, habes vero adhuc in domo, et Alcest. 1078. : adde etiam Lucian. in Tragopod. v. 253. ὁ βελλεροφόντης ποδαγρὸς ὢν ἐκαρτερεῖ, Bellerophon podagricus erat : Timoclem in Cauniis ap. Athen. L. vi. p. 240. Ε. et Philemon. ap. Johannem Stobæum Serm. vii. p. m. 70.: nostro Anacreontis loco perquam simillimus est Eurip. in Iph. Taur. ν. 1396. οἱ δ ̓ ἐκαρτεροῦν πρὸς κῦμα λακτίζοντες, illi vero perseveranter fuctibus obnitebantur.” G. D'Arnaud's Specimen Animadvv. crit. ad aliquos Scriptores Græc. p. 15. Again in p. 79.: « Non raro ita construuntur verba μένειν et μίμνειν ap. Scriptores Græc.: en tibi testes, Plato Epist. ad Aristodor. in fine, ἀλλ' ἔῤῥωσό τε, καὶ μένε ἐν τοῖς ἤθεσιν, οἷσπερ καὶ μένεις, sed vale, et persevera in vivendi ratione, in qua es : adde Eurip. Plan. v. 1699. μέν ̓ εὐτυχοῦσα, τἄμ' ἐγὼ στέρξω κακὰ, usque sis felix: verbum uluva eadem sæpe reperias significatione, ut apud ipsum Callim. Hymn. in Del. ν. 69. μίμνον ἀπειλητῆρες, ap. Is. Agam. v. 159. et Anonymum ap. Plut. Consol. ad Apollon. p. 102. F. ἀλλ ̓ αὐτὸς αἰεὶ μίμνε τὴν σαυτοῦ φύσιν σώζων βεβαίως, ὥστε χρυσὸς ἐν πυρὶ, Sed usque semper tuam naturam serves constanter." There is, I must frankly confess, in these verses of the Hippolytus, something, which, to me at least, requires an explanation: I do not see how the sense of καρτερεῖν, perseverare, which G. D'Arnaud has here illustrated, applies to κεταρτέρηται τάμα, which is evidently a play upon some hidden meaning of the verb as referring to death; for Euripides connects these words with ἔλωλα by γὰρ, Θη. μὴ νῦν προδῶς με, τέκνον, ἀλλὰ καρτέρει. Ιππ. κεκαρτέρηται τἄμ'· ἔλωλα γὰρ, πάτερ. Both Valckenaer, and Professor Monk are silent upon this obscure passage, to which I should be glad to see the attention of the Scholar directed. V. 1455. "Tam apud Romanos, quam Latinos totus homo tegebatur excepta facie, cui tamen fœdatæ vestem illam injiciebant; id petit apud Eurip. Hippolytus in Tragoedia cognomine, κεκαρτέρημαι τἄμ', ὅλωλα γὰρ, πάτης: κρύψον δέ μου πρόσωπον ὡς τάχος πέπλοις, fortis jam fui; perii enim, pater: tege autem faciem meam quam celerrime peplis." G. Cuperi Obss. L. II. c. 9. p. 218. E. H. BARKER. Hatton, Jan. 13, 1813. Particulars relative to the Founders of the Druses Religion, collected from Arabian Authors. BY JOSEPH BOXTI. AHMED el Najem, a native of Hejaz in Arabia, declared himself a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed-saying that he was the son of Issa, the son of Moussa, the son of Ali, the son of Hosein, the son of Ali, who married Fatima the daughter of Mohammed. He retired to Bassora, where several great and wealthy men possessed many slaves-there he began to preach on the injustice of slavery, arguing that it was wrong for some to be well clothed, idle, and luxurious in their food, while others ran before them naked, or were constantly employed in fatiguing labors, and generally suffering from excessive hunger-he added, that the black complexion of the slaves did not by any means render them inferior to the white men, since their dark color was occasioned by the influence of the sun, from which, he affirmed, if the blacks were to be preserved, their descendants would gradually become fair-and he concluded with one grand general maxim, that every thing in this world ought to be common to all men. In consequence of these doctrines, he soon obtained a considerable party among the slaves, and he also became a favorite with those white people, whose wants and distresses rendered them jealous of the rich and great. He now took a bolder flight, and not contenting himself with preaching his dangerous principles openly, he one Friday (the Mahometan Sabbath) intimated to the multitude and especially to the slaves, that by his profound skill in astronomy, (for which he was highly celebrated) he had discovered that, unless their tyrannical oppressors were to loose their chains and restore them to their natural rights, on the following Monday, Heaven would manifestly declare its vengeance by means of an eclipse-this he had well calculated previously to uttering his prophecy. On the day which he had mentioned, his prediction was fulfilled, and Ahmed el Najem obtained the reputation of a prophet-without losing time, he availed himself of his new character, and induced a number of the slaves to assemble in a place without the city, and there they agreed to murder their masters, and to seize upon and divide their riches among themselves.-A Friday was particularly fixed on as the day for this massacre, because in these early ages of the Mussulman religion, they strictly observed noon as a time for devotion in the mosques,—and accordingly in the year 216 of the Hejira (of the Christian Æra 831) they were all slain, being unarmed, by the hands of their slaves-and this horrid plot succeeded the more, as at this very juncture the Sultan Mamoun, Khalif of Baghdad, was in Egypt with all his army. After this slaughter, the Blacks attacked the houses of the great men, and of the rich inhabitants, stripped them of every thing valuable, and divided the spoil among themselves under the inspection of El Najem, who was proclaimed their deliverer and sovereign. After a short time, this new chief assembled a sufficient number of armed men, and marched against the Persians, whom he defeated on several occasions, invaded their territories, and pillaged their towns, always dividing the plunder among his soldiers, until after reigning sixteen years, he was overcome in a memorable battle, and his whole army cut to pieces by the Sultan Vathek of Baghdad; and Ahmed El Najem with considerable difficulty escaped, saving himself by flight, after having lost every thing, and particularly lamenting his astrolabe, an instrument extremely rare in those times, and which had cost him a prodigious sum of money. He crossed in disguise through Yemen (Arabia Felix) and Egypt, and settled in Barbary in the vicinity of Tripoli and Tunis, where having established a considerable reputation for the various sciences which he possessed, and especially for his skill in astronomy, he at length declared himself to be that Ahmed el Najem, whose fame had resounded all over the East, not only on account of his actions at Bassora and in Persia, but as a descendant of the prophet; and this latter consideration obtained for him the respect of all those people who had lately embraced the Mahomedan faith. They placed themselves under his command, and readily adopted those maxims of equality and community of property which he had before preached to the slaves and beggars of Bassora, with so much success. He reigned in tranquillity several years, and after him his son and nephew, who during their government undertook various expeditions against Egypt, in one of which they obtained possession of Alexandria, and in another they entered Fua; but they were always obliged to abandon these attempts until the year 358 of the Hejira (of the Christian Era 968) when Johar al Kaïed, a slave of El Moaz, nephew, or rather grandson, of El Najem marched, by command of his sovereign, with a powerful army into Egypt, and having conquered the maritime provinces of that country, he encamped with sixty thousand soldiers on the spot where now the city of Cairo stands. Of this city Johar al Kaied laid the foundation by some buildings, the remains of which are still shown. The capital of Egypt at this time was Fostat. Particulars relative to Mansur al Hakem, Khalif of EgyptBY ASSIOUti. Mansur al Hakem was entitled "the consummation of wickedness of the human race."-No tyrant more base than Mansur has governed |