VIII. This, this is she To whom our vows and wishes bend; Mark what radiant state she spreads, Sitting like a goddess bright, Or the towered Cybele, Juno dares not give her odds. Who had thought this clime had held Translate into Greek Prose. It may not be improper to say a word of the excellencies and defects of Aristophanes; especially as some modern critics have thought proper not only to greet him with the title of a scurrilous and indecent buffoon, but to wonder how such monstrous farces could be endured by the chaste ears of an Attic audience. That many should have been greatly exasperated with Aristophanes, for publicly exhibiting Socrates on the stage, and making him speak and act in a manner most inconsistent with his known character, is not surprising; but as the accusation urged by some against the poet, of being instrumental to Socrates's death, has been substantially refuted by many critics; so one of them has very judiciously observed, with regard to the other part of the charge, that Socrates is not so much the object of ridicule in the Comedy of the Clouds, as the philosophers in general, who, of whatever benefit the lessons and example of Socrates himself might be to the state, were, from their idle lives, their minute, ridiculous, and sometimes impious disquisitions, highly prejudicial to their disciples, and, by consequence, to the public. Of the indecency which abounds in Aristophanes, unjustifiable as it certainly is, it may however be observed, that different ages differ extremely in their ideas of this offence. Among the antients, plain-speaking was the fashion; nor was that ceremonious delicacy introduced, which has taught men to abuse each other with the utmost politeness, and express the most indecent ideas in the most modest language. In all Aristophanes's indecency there is nothing that can allure, but much that must deter. He never dresses up the most detestable vices in an amiable light; but generally, by describing them in their native colours, makes the reader disgusted with them. His abuse of the most eminent citizens may be accounted for upon similar principles. Besides, in a Republic, freedom of speech was deemed an essential privilege of a citizen. Demosthenes treats his adversaries with such language as would, in our days, be reckoned scurrilous enough; but it passed, in those days, without any notice or reprehension. The world is since greatly altered for the better. We have, indeed, retained the matter, but judiciously rejected what was offensive in the manner. In his plots too, it must be owned, Aristophanes is sometimes faulty. It ought however to be observed, that his contemporary comic poets did not pique themselves upon the artful management of the plot. Aristophanes has therefore the usual failing of dramatic writers, to introduce speeches, and even scenes, not much conducing to the business of the drama.-To sum up Aristophanes's character, if we consider his just and severe ridicule of the Athenian foibles, his detestation of the expensive and ruinous war in which Greece was engaged; his pointed invectives against the factious and interested demagogues, by whom the populace was deluded, "who bauled for freedom in their senseless mood;" his contempt of the useless and frivolous enquiries of the Sophists; his wit, and versatility of style; the astonishing playfulness, originality, and fertility of his imagination; the great harmony of his versification, whenever the subject required it, and his most refined elegance of language; we shall look over his blemishes, and allow that, with all his faults, he might be a very good Citizen, and was certainly an excellent Poet.-R. PORSON. 1. Give an account of the æra of the Olympiads, the Julian Æra, and the Chronicle of the Arundel Marbles: and explain the principles of Sir Isaac Newton's Chronology. 2. Give a short History of the Dorians. What parts of Greece, of Asia, of Sicily, and of Italy were possessed by Dorians? 3. Give a short History of the Council of Amphictyons. 4. Give an account of the Origin, Learning, Religion, and Authority of the Druids. 5. Give an account of the institution of the Census, and of the division and subdivision of the Roman people ascribed to Servius Tullius. What are the computed qualifications (Roman and English money) of the several classes? 6. Give an account of Fable: of Æsop the Fabulist, and of the book called Æsop's Fables. 7. State concisely what is known of the age and lives of the following poets: Lycophron, Callimachus, Oppianus, Sappho, Alcæus, Simonides, Bion and Moschus. What is the character of their poetry? Which of their works, or parts of their works are extant? 8. Define Tragedy, and describe the parts, which in the opinion of Aristotle are necessary to constitute Tragedy. 9. State the distinction between Accent and Quantity. Explain the Nature and Use of Accents in the Greek Language. 10. Make a brief statement of the rules in the Iambic, Trochaic, and Anapæstic Metres of the Tragedians. 11. Explain briefly the principal uses of the Greek Article. 12. Give a short account of the Corruptions and Disuse of the Latin Language. 13. Make a brief statement of the administration of Pisistratus. 14. Give a short sketch of the characters of Mecænas and Agrippa. 15. Give an account of the origin and Use of Hieroglyphics. 16. Explain the Athenian and Roman method of computing money. 1. Into English Prose. 1828. Thucyd. vii. 77. Ετὶ καὶ ἐκ τῶν παρόντων-ἀνδρῶν κεναί. II. Into Latin Elegiac Verse. Farewell, too little and too lately known, Thus Nisus fell upon the slippery place, Whilst his young friend performed, and won the race. What could advancing age have added more? A noble error, and but seldom made, When poets are by too much force betrayed. Thy generous fruits, though gathered ere their prime, But mellows what we write, to the dull sweets of rhyme. And ah too short, Marcellus of our tongue! Thy brows with ivy, and with laurels bound; III. Into Latin Prose. ..It is great But when the night covered them, the King found means to withdraw himself with, one or two of his own servants; whom he likewise discharged, when it began to be light; and after he had made them cut off his hair, he betook himself alone into an adjacent wood, and relied only upon him for his preservation who alone could, and did miraculously deliver him... pity that there was never a journal made of that miraculous deliverance, in which there might be seen so many visible impressions of the immediate hand of God. When the darkness of the night was over, after the King had cast himself into that wood, he discerned another man, who had gotten upon an oak in the same wood, near the place where the King had rested himself, and had slept soundly. The man upon the tree had first seen the King, and knew him, and came down to him, and was known to the King, being a gentleman of the neighbour country of Staffordshire, who had served his late Majesty during the war, and had now been one of the few who resorted to the King after his coming to Worcester. ...He persuaded the King, since it could not be safe for him to go out of the wood, and that, as soon as it should be fully light, the wood itself would probably be visited by those of the country, who would be searching to find those whom they might make prisoners, that he would get up into that tree, where he had been; where the boughs were so thick with leaves, that a man would not be discovered there without a narrower enquiry than people usually make in places which they do not suspect. The King thought it good counsel; and, with the other's help, climbed into the tree; and then helped his companion to ascend after him; where they sate all that day, and securely saw many who came purposely into the wood to look after them, and heard all their discourse, how they would use the King himself if they could take him.... .... The day being spent in the tree, it was not in the King's power to forget that he had lived two days with eating very little, and two nights with as little sleep; so that, when the night came, he was willing to make some provision for both and he resolved, with the advice and assistance of his companion, to leave his blessed tree; and, when the night was dark, they walked through the wood into those inclosures which were |