~ 
GS SIPS. 
’ 
aa 
oN 
SAPPHO. 
p. 5. Corps d’Extraits des Romanis, tom. 
iii. p. 4. Fontenelle Theatre, tom. iii. 
We do not think that -the direct testi- 
mony of these two. witnesses. (French- 
men although they be) to the existence 
of a work which they themselves saw, 
can be weighed down by the negative 
affirmation of the Portugueze writers. 
But enough of praise will remain to 
Lobeira, if we suppose it was he who 
first modelled the romarice into its pre- 
sént shape; and in this view his inven- 
tive powers will deserve as much praise, 
as if he had not assumed for the ground- 
work the rude lays of some ancient 
French minstrel. Had Milton executed 
his projected epic upon the story of 
Brutus, the tale of Geoffrey of Mon- 
mouth would have little injured his claim 
to originality, . ' 
Mr. Southey in his preface touches 
upon the endless continuations, so inarti- 
ficially tacked to the original Amadis 
Art, III, 
“WIELAND, in the preface to his 
Peregrine Proteus, assures us, that he 
enjoys the possession of a talent in com- 
mon with the renowned spirit of Sweden- 
borg, by virtue of which his soul tran- 
sports itself at times into the company of 
departed persons, and according ‘as it is 
inclined, can either hearken unseen to 
their conversations with each other, or if 
it chooses, can jcin in conversation with 
them. Wieland has often exercised this 
faculty with the greatest advantage ; for 
whenever his soul, after any of its visits 
to the departed shades below, or the 
Olympic gods above, returns into its 
earthly body, we ate made very accu- 
rately acquainted with the conversation 
that. passes among philosophers and 
moralists, and even among: the immor- 
tals themselves. 
The author of the present volume has 
thus endeavoured to transport his rea- 
ders into Greece, and introduce them to 
the company of the Lesbian muse. We 
‘meet her at dinner, we meet her at sup- 
per; we listen to her conversations with 
Kutychius and Nomophilus, and among 
other important subjects, hear discussed 
with becoming gravity and seriousness, 
the grave and serious questions “whence 
arises that attention with which we be- 
hold fountains?’ and “‘ why, during the 
_ severity of winter, is it so pleasing toas- 
semble round the family hearth?” These 
ave deliberated upon at length, and thus 
Sappho ; after a Greek Romance. 
608 
by a herd of Spanish imitators. In 
these ill-adapted supplements, which 
swelled to an immense size, the dignity 
of the original Amadis was inflated into 
the most imsupportable bombast, the 
wildness of his magic into puerile dia- 
blerie, nay the morals were depraved, al- 
though Herberay tells us, “ toutefoys ils 
ne sont arejetter; car il se trouve maintes 
bonnes exemples, qui peuvent servir pour la 
salvation de noz ames,” 
Our limits would be exceeded by fur- 
ther commentary on this interesting ar- 
ticle. In our opinion, the public is 
much indebted to Mr. Southey for re- 
storing to general inspection what may 
be justly termed a classical romatice of 
the first order, while the raciness of the. 
original is so admirably preserved, that 
but forthe introduction, the modern or- 
thography, and the modern type, we 
could have believed it written under the 
auspices of the house of Tudor. 
12mo. pp. 310. 
is the knotty question solved: “I be. 
lieve, answered Nomophilus, that it is 
from the varying motion of those ob- 
jects; and if such be the case, he conti- 
nues, with much facetiousness, “ let us 
go in quest of fresh amusement from 
motion and variety—having remained 
here long enough !” 
- The story of Sappho is doubtless well 
fitted to be the ground-work of a ro- 
mance; but in such hands as those of 
Wieland, it would have been made the 
vehicle also of much critical and philo- 
sophic Jearning : here it is a mere 
story. The author has scraped toge- 
ther whats history has recorded of this 
unfortunate female, for the sake of ef- 
fect has added a few circumstances from 
the stores of his own fancy, and altoge- 
ther produced a decent novel for the 
shelves of a circulating library. 
’ If history has not left it quite certain 
whether Phaon was insensible to the ar- 
dour of Sappho’s passion, or unfaithful 
to his vows, the testtmony in favour 
of the latter opinion certainly prepon- 
derates. 
s© Cantalam: memint (meminerunt omnia 
amantes) ' 
Oscula cantanti, tu mihi rapta dalas, 
Hac ese latin cin se omnique a parte place- 
1a 
‘Sed tunc precipuc, cum fit amoris opus.” 
_ Ovid agrees with those who assert 
that she lost her parents when very 
