Bat. From Sunium's brow that rul'st the azure waves ! Bac. Thou speakest well. And yet I wish this plan had been adopted Before I'd undergone the flagellation.' pp. 327-830. Eschylus and Euripides, it seems, are contending for the tragic chair; and divide the votes of Tartarus. They hold a solemn disputation. We have room only for a single passage. Eur. My prologues do me credit. Esch. Not they; yet I shall not examine them But try them by applying any words Adapted to chime in with thy sweet strains.❤ Eur. My prologues to be try'd by such a test! Esch. By nothing else. In truth they're so compos'd, That join we to them any jingling words Which suit the metre, they'll ne'er hurt the sense. I'll prove it to thee instantly. Eur. Thou'lt prove it? Esch. Ev'n so. Bac. But thou must first repeat some lines, Eur. "Egyptus, as fame's loudest voice relates, Landing at Argos,"+ Esch. Lost his candlestick t Bac. What about candlestick? Plague take the fellow! Eur. "In fawn-skin clad, and brandishing his thyrsus, Leads his brisk chorus,❞— Esch. Lost his candlestick. But try them by applying any words Adapted to chime in with thy sweet strains. I have taken some latitude in the translation of this part, to make the meaning of the comic poet more intelligible.. His design here is to show that Euripides was chiefly studious in his compositions of a certain correctness of numbers, and that his versification owed all its beauty to a cadence he much affected. To prove this, Eschylus says, he will take any set of words that will suit for the conclusion of an Iambic verse, and let Euripides repeat as many of his prologues as he pleased, he would engage to affix them to one of the first three lines, and neither the versification or sense should be injured by it. 44 "Egyptus, as fame's loudest voice, &c." From the Archelaus of Euripides. Lost his candlestick. I have endeavoured to preserve the ridiculous effect of the original, by translating the Greek Anxúbiov, or little lamp, a candlestick. I am however inclined to suspect, that the words λnxú¤¡ov áæúñeσey are not merely a metrical completion of an Iambic verse, but have also a meaning equivalent to the Latin proverb "Oleum perdidit-he has wasted his lamp-oil," i. e. misused his time, and that they contain a reflection on Euripides for the great pains he took in finishing his compositions-by the frequent polishing and retouching of which Aristophanes would insinuate he had destroyed all their spirit and vigour. 》 “In fawn-skin clad." From his Hypsipyle. Bac. Again he hit us with his candlestick. Eur. No matter! Here is one to which I'm certain He never will be able to apply it. "There's no man who in all respects is blest ;* From abject fathers-" Bac. Euripides! Esch. Lost his candlestick. Eur. What now! Bac. 1 think I see thee Short'ning thy sails, as fearful of a storm. Eur. By Ceres! it affects me not the least:- Esch. Let's hear it. But beware o' th' candlestick. Esch. Lost his candlestick. Bac. Poor fellow! can'st not buy this candlestick, Eur. Buy it of him? Bac. 'Tis what I would advise. Eur. Truly not I. I've prologues still in plenty, "The son of Tantalus to Pisa borne‡ By rapid coursers———” Esch. Lost his candlestick. Bas. Again he introduc'd the candlestick. Thou'lt get an excellent one for an obol. Eur. Not so, by Jove !-I've many more to come.— "I' th' fields when Eneus"-|| Esch. Lost his candlestick. Eur. Pray wait, 'till I've repeated the whole line. "I' th' fields when neus gath'ring in his sheaves To offer first fruits" Esch. Lost his candlestick. Bac. What at the sacrifice? Did some one steal it? "Jove, by that names he justly is address'd." Bac. He'll do for thee with this same candlestick. In truth it makes thy prologues look as strange As a man's eye with a vast tumour o'er it. pp. 379–382. Of the Birds we have neither room nor inclination to speak at any length. The fable seems to us unfortunate, and the humour unintelligible. The translator, has, we will venture decidedly to say, entirely mistaken the manner of his original, and has rendered the whole in the broad coarse * "There's no man who inall respects is blest." From his Sthenoba. "Bending his steps from Sidon's city." From his Phryxus. "The son of Tantalus to Pisa." From his Iphigenia in Tauris. "I' th' fields when Æneus." From his Meleager. "Jove, by that name." From his Melanippe. style of modern farce. We can assure the member of one of the universities,' that such was not the style of Aristophanes. Had he never met with the hacknied distich Αἱ χαριτες τέμενος τι λαβειν οπερ εχὶ πεσειται Ζτεσαι, Ψυχην εὖρον Αριστοφάνες. Art. V. Particulars of the Life of a Dissenting Minister. Written by Himself. With occasional Reflections, illustrative of the Education and Professional state of the Dissenting Clergy, and of the Character, and Manners of the Dissenters in general. 12mo. pp. xvi. 188. Price 5s. 6d. in boards. Adlard, Jones. 1812. THE HE attractive title of this publication is likely to produce, amongst various and opposite classes of readers, no small portion of disappointment. It is certain that the soi-disant Unitarian corps, to which the writer confessedly belongs, will consider his commendations as of very equivocal worth, and will be a good deal mortified with the contrast exhibited between this exposure of the nakedness of the land, and the spirit of eulogy and self-conceit, which the advocates of the 'rational' cause so generally display. The occasional effusions of spleen, ignorance, and bigotry, which appear in the 'minister's' animadversions on Trinitarian dissenters, will not be thought by the men of reason a sufficient counterpoise to those humiliating reflections on the character of their own party which, in spite of all attempts to qualify and mitigate, will be likely to leave on the majority of readers the most permanent impression. On the other hand dissenters in general,' and the dissenting clergy' of other denominations in particular, will regard the professions of the title-page, as egregiously belied by this anonymous memorialist. They will find the man egregiously ignorant of the education and professional state' of the ministers, without his own narrow pale, and discover that the specimens of academical economy, with which his own experience and observation have made him so familiarly acquainted, and which he details with a ridiculous minuteness in this scanty volume, were of the most wretched and meagre order, and by no means sufficient to warrant the general conclusions he has drawn. A third class of readerspersons of neither party, but honestly desirous of obtaining correct information about a body of men so important and so numerous as the English dissenters-will be disappointed and disgusted by the style of illogical reasoning in which the writer indulges his propensity to generalize on the most limited induction of facts, by his want of acquaintance with other sects of separatists, and by the presumption which has incited him to obtrude this work on the notice of the world, as an account of the Dissenters' and their Clergy! If there be any in this class at all influenced by ecclesiastical prejudices, as they must remember that the party to which the author belongs is nost highly self-accredited for learning, they will think that bad indeed is the best provision which the dissenters have made, or are making, for the scientific and literary education of their ministers; and that, as the consequence of this impolitic parsimony, those ministers must be the veriest intellectual paupers in the Three Kingdoms.-Still we think it possible, notwithstanding its demerits, to extract something good, even from this composition; and for this purpose we shall lay before our readers some of the facts and remarks which it contains. The volume commences with a Dedication to his dear children,' followed by a 'Preface' of some length in which the writer assigns his motives for publishing; deprecates, in the usual style, the severity of criticism; intimates his design of adventuring another volume,' should this meet with a favourable reception; and assures us, we think nearly a dozen times in the course of the narrative, that the future number will be far more interesting than the particulars which are now presented. This future number' is also to be tremendously faithful. So dire a tale will it unfold, that divers vicious characters will be exposed, in all their deformity, to public detestation; and the interesting particulars' will be fully and substantially authenticated; so that the prurient curiosity of the world will receive a most delightfully pungent gratification. In the first chapter, the author informs us of his birth, parentage, and early destination to the ministry, among Rational Dissenters as they call themselves.' He was led to this course of life by his father and his uncle' and he adopted their plan at a time when his inexperience rendered him unable to comprehend all its inconveniences.' 'Alas!' he exclaims, with the knowledge which the trial has produced, my election would have been very different, although the sum of happiness accorded to me might not have been increased.' He received, he tells us, a good classical education in early life, preparatory to his commencing a theological student; and on the subject of classical literature, we find several useful observations in different parts of the work. While it would be the height of injustice to withhold from many dissenting divines, the praise of eloquence as speakers, of profound and accurate knowledge as theologians, and of eminent fidelity and success as ministers, it must be acknowledged, that comparatively few excel in classical erudition; and perhaps fewer still in thorough scientific knowledge. It is not difficult to account for this deficiency; nor should we think the removal of it an improvement, at the expence of impressive oratory, theological knowledge, and pastoral diligence. Still we conceive that in the arrangements of their numerous and well-supported seminaries, a previous acquaintance with the classics should be made, in general, an indispensable requisite for admission; that the attention of the students may not be occupied with the elements of language, nor grammatical toils absorb that time which should be wholly devoted to higher and more important pursuits. Were this desideratum secured, the more difficult classics, and a select course of the ancient Fathers, might be included in the studies of dissenting academics, and by this means the best foundation would be laid for an accurate and truly scientific system of scriptural theology. The second and four following sections detail the author's preparatory studies, and settlement, after some considerable difficulties, with a small dissenting congregation. The outline he has given of the course and manner of education at the academy, is curious. We should imagine this institution to be truly unique. From some local allusions, we conjecture it must have been in South Wales; where either the poverty or inattention of the constituents rendered it necessary to educate orthodox and anti-orthodox pupils under the same tutors; and in which, to complete the adaptation of the system to existing circumstances, one of the professors was of the rational' order and the other a puritanical Calvinist. We know not whether such an amalgamation, exists at present or not in that part of the Principality; but as it is imagined by the author that a similar arrangement obtains in other dissenting academies, he dwells at some length on the impolicy and iniquity of placing pious and devout students of the Socinian faith, under the direction of ignorant and gloomy Trinitarians! has known Who would believe it, [exclaims our memorialist, with honest indignation,] that on the present plan, the respectable P board has put at the head of its Institution avowed Calvinists; that students have been rejected for want of belief in the Trinity; and that and countenanced such a dereliction of every principle of liberty, of every right of private judgement? Had the constituents been Calvinistic, they might lay down such restriction as a part of their plan. But the P- -board cannot have adopted such restrictions, and they are abused when such restrictions have the sanction of their governors and visitors. • Independently of the illiberality and bad faith discovered in appointing Calvinistic and Trinitarian tutors in a seminary of Presbyterian denomination, the effects appear to be unfavourable to learning and piety. The confessed inferiority in literature of Calvinistic Ministers among Dissenters is likely to prove unfriendly to the literary proficiency of young men whose education is conducted by them. But this is of secondary importance. If it should be shewn that the PIETY of candidates for the ministry may be checked by their superintendance, the evil becomes too serious to be despised! p. 43. *We suppose he means Presbyterian. |