account for the dearth 32 of original 33 literary 34 productions 35 during this interval. Induced 36 by the rewards that invariably 37 attended a successful inquiry 38, those men who possessed any considerable share 39 of 40 learning, devoted themselves to this occupation, and to such a degree of enthusiasm11 was it carried 42, that the discovery of an ancient manuscript was regarded almost equivalent 43 to 44 the conquest of a kingdom.-Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici. XXXI. CHARACTER OF THE EARL OF STRAFFord. 1 THOMAS Wentworth, successively created? Lord Wentworth and Earl3 of Strafford, a man of great abilities*, eloquence, and courage, but of a cruel and imperious 5 nature, was the counsellor most trusted in political and military affairs. He had been one of the most distinguished members of the opposition9, and felt towards those whom he had deserted 10 that peculiar 11 malignity 12 which has, in all ages 13, been characteristic 14 of apostates.15 He perfectly understood the feelings, the resources, and the policy 16 of the party to which he had lately belonged, and had formed 17 a vast 18 and deeply meditated 19 scheme 20 which very nearly confounded 2 even the able 22 tactics 23 of the statesmen by whom the House of Commons 24 had Begeisterung. 42 treiben. 41 1 5 3 4 35 44 40 an. 4 mit. 31 erklären. 32 Urmuth, an. 33 freigeschaffen. 34 literarisch. 5 Leistung. 36 bewegen. 37 unwandelbar. 38 Forschung. 39 Schat, m. 43 von gleichem Werthe achten. hinter einander. 2 machen zu. Graf (Gen.-en). Fähigkeit. herrschsüchtig. Rathgeber. 7 vertrauen auf, and say, in whom they must trusted. Mitglied, n. 9 Gegenpartei, f. 10 abfallen von. 11 eigenthümlich. 12 Groll, m. say, at all times. abtrünniger Mensch. 16 Bestreben. 17 entwerfen. 19 erdenken. 20 o Plan, m. 21 in Verwirrung bringen. fahren. 24 Gemein, to be used as a Substantive. 15 13 14 bezeichnend für. 18 weit umfassend. 22 klug. 23 Ver sition, and some of his productions 66 stand unrivalled 67 amongst those of his countrymen to 68 the present day. Yet such 69 has been the admiration paid 70 by the Italians to a few favourite authors71, that they have almost closed?2 their eyes to73 the various excellencies with 74 which his works abound.75 From the time of his death no general collection was made of his writings for upwards of76 sixty years, and after their first publication77 by Aldus in 1554, upwards of78 two centuries elapsed 79 without a new edition.80 Neglected in Italy, they seem to have been unknown to the rest of Europe. A French historian 82, Varillas, in whose narrative Lorenzo makes 83 a conspicuous 84 figure 85, assures his readers, that the writings of this great man, as well in verse as in prose, are irrevocably 86 lost; and that he would no longer be known as an author, were it not from 87 the commendations 88 bestowed upon 89 him by his friends, and the attention 90 paid 91 to him by Paulus Jovius, who has assigned 92 a place 93 to his memory 94 in his eulogies on 95 the modern writers of Italy. But we are 96 not to consider Lorenzo de' Medici merely in the character of an author, and a patron97 of learning. As a statesman, he was without doubt the most extraordinary person 98 of his own or perhaps of any 99 time. Though a private citizen 100 and a merchant of Florence, he not only obtained the decided 101 control 102 of that state, at 103 a period1 104 when it abounded with 105 men of 66 Leistung. 67 unvergleichlich. 68 bis zum heutigen Tage. 69 so groß. 70 zollen. 73 71 Lieblingsschriftsteller. 72 schließen. vor. 74 an. 75 so reich sein. 76 for upwards of wohl, and put lang after years. öffentlichung. 78 ungefähr. 79 vergehen. 82 Geschichtschreiber. bringlich. 87 say, 81 77 Ber= 1 übrig. 80 Ausgabe. 83 'spielen. 84 bedeutend. it be then through. 85 Rolle, f. 86 Unpreisung. 89 zu seinen 92 anweisen. 97 Be= Gunsten erheben. 90 Aufmerksamkeit. 91 schenken. 95 Lobrede zu Ehren. 96 müssen. 102 2 Leitung. 103 zu. 99 irgend ein. 100 Privatmann. 104 Zeit, f. 105 an Fülle besigen. 101 entschieden. the greatest talents and acuteness 106, but raised himself to the rank 107 of sole arbiter 108 of Italy, and operated 109 with considerable effect 110 upon the politics 111 of Europe. Without attempting to subjugate 112 his native place113, he laid the foundation 114 of the future greatness of his family. His son and his nephew were, at a short interval115, successively 116 raised to the pontifical 117 dignity 118; and in the succeeding 119 centuries, his descendants 120 became connected 121 by marriage 122 with the first European sovereigns. The protection 123 afforded 124 by him to all the polite 125 arts 126 gave them a permanent 127 foundation 128 in Italy In the establishment 129 of public libraries, schools, and seminaries of learning 130, he was equally 131 munificent 132, indefatigable 133, and successful 134; and these objects 135 were all accomplished 136 by a man who died at 137 the early age of forty-four years.-Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici. XXVIII. INFLUENCE OF LIBERTY ON THE FLORENTINES.3 THE great degree of freedom, enjoyed by the citizens of Florence, had the most favourable effects on their character, and gave them a decided7 superiority over the inhabitants of the rest of Italy. The popular nature of the government 10, -8 106 Scharfsinn. 107 Rang, m. 108 Schiedsrichter. 109 wirken. 110 Erfolg. 111 Staatsleben. 112 unterjochen. 113 Geburtsort, m. 114 Grundlage. 115 Zwischenraum, m. 116 nach einander. 117 påpstlich 118 Würde. 119 folgend. 120 Nachkomme, m. 121 verbinden. 122 Heirath. 123 Schuß, m. say, which he afforded angedeihen lassen. 124 127 dauernd. 128 Stellung. 129 Errichtung. 131 gleich. 132 freigebig. 133 unermüdlich. 136 zu Stande bringen. 137 in. 3 'Einfluß. 2auf. Florentiner. hoch. 6 5 125 schön. 126 Kunst. glücklich. 130 gelehrte Anstalt. say, which the citizens enjoyed; to enjoy genießen, with Gen. günstig wirken auf. 7 ent= schieden. Ueberlegenheit. vor. 10 volksmäßige Regierungsweise. .11 not subjected to the will of an individual as in many of the surrounding states, not restricted 12 like that of Venice 13 to 14 a particular class, was a constant incitement 15 to exertion. Nor 16 was it on the great body17 of the people only that the good effects of this system 18 were apparent19; even those who claimed 20 the privileges 21 of ancestry 22 felt the advantages of a rivalship 23, which prevented their sinking 24 into indolence 25, and called upon 26 them to support by their own talents the rank and influence which they had derived 27 from 28 those of their ancestors.29 Where the business 30 of government is confined 31 to a few, the faculties 32 of the many 33 become torpid 34 for35 want of 36 exercise; but in Florence, every citizen was conversant with 37, and might hope, at least, to partake in 38 the government and hence was derived 39 that spirit of industry which, in the pursuit 40 of41 wealth, and the extension 42 of commerce 43, was, amidst all their intestine broils 44, so conspicuous 45 and so successful.46 The fatigues 47 of public life, and the cares 48 of mercantile 49 avocations 50, were alleviated 51 at time 52 by the study of literature or the speculations 53 of 54 philosophy. A rational 55 and dignified 56 employment engaged 57 those moments of leisure 58 not 11 umgrånzend. 15 12 beschränken. 13 Venedig. 14 auf. Sporn, m. 16 auch nicht, and leave out was it and that, and put were between auch and nicht. 17 Masse, f. 18 Staatssystem, n. 19 sichtbar. 35 37 an. say, had knowledge schränken auf. 32 Fähigkeit. 33 3 say, the great multitude Menge. 34 verdumpfen to become torpid. aus. 36 of the government (Regierungswesen), and might to partake (Theil nehmen) in it. an. 39 kommen. 40 Streben. 41 nach. 42 Aus= 46 38 49 kauf breitung. 43 Handel, m. 44 innere Zwistigkeiten. 45 in die Augen springend. erfolgreich. 47 Beschwerde. 48 Mühseligkeit. männisch. 50 Geschäft 51 mildern. 52 zu Zeiten. 53 Versenkung, sing. 55 vernünftig. 56würdevoll. 54 in. 57 58 ausfüllen. Muße, f. necessarily devoted to more important concerns, and the mind was relaxed 60 without being debilitated 61, and amused 62 without being depraved.63 The superiority which the Florentines thus acquired, was universally acknowledged; and they became the historians, the poets, the orators, and the preceptors of Europe.-Roscoe's Life of Lorenzo de' Medici. XXIX. ON DR. JOHNSON'S LIVES OF THE POETS. which, unfortunately for and the character of our THE life of Pope2 by Dr. Johnson has been considered as one of the best of3 that series the memory of our national poets national poetry, he was induced to undertake. Throughout the whole of those lives there appears an assumption 10 of superiority in the biographer 12 over the subjects 13 of his labours 14, which diminishes 15 the idea 16 of their talents1, and leaves18 an unfavourable impression 19 their moral character. It could only be 20 from 21 the representation 22 of Johnson, that so amiable a on as Cowper 23 could thus close 24 his remarks on 25 reading the lives of the British poets. After all 26, it is a melancholy 27 observation 28, which it is impossible not to make 29, after having run through 30 this series of poetic lives, that where there were such shining talents, there should be so little 60 sich erholen. 61 sich abschwächen. 62 unterhalten. 63 verderben. 2 8 and when it is as much as taken from Lebensbeschreibung. 5 Volksdichter. 6 Volkspoesie. 7 bewegen. durch, and put hindurch after the Acc. 9 say, all these. 10 Anmaßung. Ueberlegenheit. 12 Lebensbeschreiber. 13 Gegenstand, sing. 14 take the sing. 15 verringern. 16 Begriff. 17 Talent, n. lassen. 19 Mahl, n. 11 was. 24 beschließen. 25 20 18 zurück 22 Darstellung. 23 add 21 durch. say, come. say, after he had read. 26 am Ende, and insert doch after it. 27 traurig. 28 Gedanke. 29 say, arrive at. 30 durchlaufen. S |
