If we allow for a few trifling faults, and fome peculiarities in the translation, the candid reader must grant that it is worthy of the original.—Mr. Stockdale's account of it, and of the energy of English poetry, the reader will perufe with pleasure. • I have endeavoured in this tranflation, to express the sentiments of Taffo as he would have done had he been an Englishman, without a fervile regard to his words: nay, in some places, I have added fentiments and lines of my own; a liberty, which, I think, may be allowed in translating works of imagination, and amufement, though it is unpardonable in transfusing history and feverer truth from one language into another. I have not, however, fuppreffed any part of the ori ginal; and where I have made additions to it, I thought the tranflation would have been flat without them. The Italian language is fo liquid and flowing, so poetical an organ of fentiment, that an Italian line, which is good poetry, will lofe a great part of its beauty, when tranflated into an English verfe, however eafy and harmonious. In fuch a cafe, an English translator muft have recourfe, if he can, to that vigour of thought which is fo peculiar to his nation. England hath produced the greatest poets in Europe, not because our language, though a very noble one, is better adapted to poetry than any other; but becaufe we have had fublimer geniufes than any people in the world. I am far from arrogating any excellence to myself: indeed it was not neceffary in tranflating Amyntas. I have only endeavoured, where it was requifite, to tread in the steps of my countrymen.' The tranflator has not confined himself to blank verfe; he has often very happily varied his measure, especially in the choruffes, which are extremely animated and poetical.-Wę fhall give our readers that which is addreffed to Love, at the end of the second act. I. Say, love, what mafter fhows thy art, Which warms with fentiment the heart, II Whence does the foul, difdaining earth, III. 'Tis not to Greece's learned foil IV. Apollo IV. Apollo, and the tuneful Nine, As is the lover's tender ftrain. V. Scholaftic art, the Mufe's lyre, He fings the best who feels the most. To thee we owe their glowing dress. VIII. His manners take a nobler turn; Upon his cheek we see it burn, And fpeak, in lightning, from his eye. IX. With fuch a new, ideal ftore Thy dictates fill the ruftic mind; Such oratory fhepherds pour, They leave a Cicero far behind. X. Nay, fuch nice heights thy powers can reach, With thee fuch varied rhetoric dwells, That even the ftruggling, broken speech The modelled period far excels. XI. Thy filence oft, in striking pause, The mind expands, but language faints. XIII. The lettered youth let Plato's page I'm better taught than by a fage, My virtue hath from Cælia's eyes; XV. Let the mistaken world fuppofe A livelier copy of the mind.' Where there is fo much merit in a performance, it would be deemed inconfiftent with candor to dwell upon trifling faults; but the nature of this work requires we fhould point out what we think is really blameable, and which, at the fame time, can be very eafily amended. Mr. Stockdale now and then departs from that fimplicity of language, which diftinguishes fo peculiarly the paftoral manners. We think the word announce, which is properly a French word, (though originally from the Latin) and but lately brought into use, by no means fit for the mouth of a shepherdefs-Volition is liable to the fame cenfure as announce.— Though the measure of a verfe demands contraction, Mr. Stockdale gives every word at full length, and leaves it to the reader's fenfe of harmony to make the neceffary abbreviation. To give finoothness to his verfification, he ventures at what fome will call a peculiarity, if not an affectation. The genitive cafe is not, as ufual in other writers, contracted. Love hath reclaimed me to my fexis joy." Sometimes, but very feldom indeed, the fenfe is lamed by an improper epithet, and the ear hurt by too near a repetition of the fame found. Nay fuch nice beights thy power can reach.' 2. X. A General View of Ancient Hiftory, Chronology, and Geogra graphy, containing, 1. Two Hiftorical and Chronological Charts, wherein the four great Monarchies, with the chief Heads of the Grecian and Roman Hißories, are reprefented in one View. A geographical Defcription of Egypt, Afia, Greece, Italy, and Gaul. 3. A Compendium of antient Hifiory, correfponding to the Charts, and including the principal Occurrences from the Establish ment of the Affyrian Monarchy to the End of the Roman State. By Thomas Stackhouse, A. M. 4:0. Pr. 45, 6d. Dodsley. THE HE highest praife is due to fuch authors as have devoted their ftudies to facilitate the inftruction of youth, whofe weak capacities would for ever wander in the labyrinth of erudition, if judicious compilers did not lend a clue to conduct their footfteps to the temple of Science. The work before us may be juftly confidered in the light of a clue of this nature, which feems very well calculated to guide and direct the inquiries of thofe, who attach themfelves to the study of ancient hiftory. As the various branches of this delightful part of literature are scattered through a multitude of authors, fome of whom have given oppofite and contradictory accounts, the utility of this performance is the more confpicuous, fince it may ferve as a compass to direct those who fail in the vaft ocean of ancient hiftory, and bring them fafely to the wished for port of useful knowledge. Our author's plan was drawn up, as he fays, for the im provement of fome young perfons of diftinction, whom he attended and inftructed, at well in these as in other branches of learning. His aim was to sketch, as it were, the outlines of hiftory, and present them in a chronological fucceffion to the learner's view, on fuch a comprehenfive plan as might enable him, by feeing the order and connexion of all the parts, to attain a clear and diftinct idea of the whole; and thus be properly prepared to read ancient hiftory with pleafure and advantage. To this compendium of history he prefixes two chronological tables; the former of which he calls a Synopfis of the four great Monarchies; the latter, a Synopfis of the Grecian and Roman States. Beginning with the firit monarchy, he gives a brief account of the Affyrian empire, which was founded by Nimrod, and ended at the death of Sardanapolus. The empire was then divided into three several kingdoms, viz. the Affyrian, Babylonian, and Median; of each of which he gives a fuccinct idea, and points out the connexion between sacred and profane hiftory, till upon the death of Cyaxares, Cyrus tranflated the empire to the Perfians, and became fole monarch of the Eaft. From thence he proceeds to facred hiftory, and lays before the reader the fucceffion of the kings of Ifrael and Judah, from Saul down to Zedekiah, in whofe time the city of Jerufalem was razed to the ground, the temple reduced to afhes, and the king carried captive to Babylon with his people, in the year before Chrift 588. He next goes on to the Perfian empire, and enumerates all the fovereigns that reigned over it, from Cyrus by whom it was founded, down to Darius Codomannus, who was defeated by Alexander the Great, in three pitched battles, and bafely flain by Beffus, general of the Bactrians. Then comes on the third monarchy, called the Grecian, or Macedonian, founded by Alexander the Great, in 330, before Chrift. Chrift. This prince dying without iffue, his captains, after facrificing his whole family to their ambition, divided his dominions among them. The chief kingdoms, to which this divifion gave rife, were Egypt, Syria, Afia-Minor, and Macedon; the most powerful of these were Egypt and Syria. Our author here gives a complete lift of the kings of Egypt, from Ptolemy, the fon of Lagus, by whom that kingdom was founded, down to Ptolemy junior, who murdered Pompey the Great, and was himself drowned in the fea-engagement against Cæfar; after which his fifter Cleopatra reigned over that kingCom alone, and lived with M. Antony, till Auguftus Cæfar made Egypt a Roman province, about thirty years before Christ. After thefe, he enumerates the kings of Syria and Babylon, from Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the kingdom of Syria, down to Antiochus Afiaticus, who, having reigned four years in fome part of the country, by the permiffion of Lucullus, was stript of his dominions by Pompey, when Syria was reduced to the form of a Roman province, fixty-four years before Chrift.-Then follows an account of the kings of Afia Minor, Antigonus furnamed the Cyclop, and his fon and fucceffor Demetrius; to which he adds, the succession of the kings of Pergamus, from Philetarus the eunuch, the founder of this kingdom, to Attalus Philometer, the son of Eu menes, who leaving his goods to the Romans, they claimed and took poffeffion of his kingdom, as a part of them, and after fome refiftance from Ariftonicus, reduced it to a province, which they called the Proper Afia.-The last division among Alexander's captains was that of Macedonia, of whofe kings our author gives an exact lift from Philip Aridæus, down to Perfeus, who, by refufing to obferve the conditions impofed upon his father Philip, brought upon himself the refentment and army of the Romans, under the command of the conful Emilius, by whom Perfeus was defeated, taken and carried to Rome, to grace the conful's triumph; this event put an end to the kingdom of Macedon, and reduced it to a Roman province. To the foregoing account of the three monarchies, is fubjoined a compendium of the Grecian hiftory, which begins with the kingdom of Sicyon, founded by Agialeus above 2000 years before Chrift, and which lafted about a thousand years. Then follows the kingdom of Argos and Mycena, which continued, till the Heraclidæ, or defcendants of Hercules, having feized Peloponnefus, changed the form of government at Lacedemon, and erected a new kingdom under two kings, Procles and Eurysthenes, the fons of Ariftodemus. Here follows an uninterrupted lift of the kings of Lacedemon, under |