250 H/jctimen of u 'I'lunsluiwii of Browne's Latin Poem. 



called Arjim ; until Hliiikein was grown up. But when he was grown up, 

 he imprisoned the aforesaid Arjun, and put him to death. He found among 

 his property what cannot be explained for multitude : a thousand shirts, a 

 thousand pair of trowsers, and a thousand trowser bands of silk. In all 

 the trowser bands was the scent of musk and the scent of amber in abun- 

 dance : and of jewels and vases he found to the amount of five hundred 

 thousand dinars. 



And when El Hhakem had died in the month Shavval, in the year 411, 

 [a. d. 10.33,] his son reigned after him. 



POETRY. 



SPECIMEN OF A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE LATIN POEM 

 OF ISAAC HAWKINS BROWNE, 



ON THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 



Of all the didactic poems which have ever been written in any language, 

 we can hardly fail to assign the palm of superiority to the original, of 

 which an attempt to transfer the introduction to the poetry of our own 

 language is here presented : the supreme importance of the subject, the 

 cogency of the arguments selected, their skilful disposition, the clearness 

 with which they are stated (so opposed to the obscurity of other metaphy- 

 sical poets), the poetical beauty of the illustrations, and vigour and ele- 

 gance of the expression, are alike remarkable. In point of style, it is 

 perhaps the most favourable specimen of modern Latin composition which 

 has ever been produced in this island ; and the imitator need hardly shrink 

 from a comparison with his great classical models. He has been absurdly 

 enough compared to Lucretius, for he has evidently formed his poetry 

 much more after the more refined type of the Augustan sera. Some former 

 attempts at English translation have been given to the public ; but that of 

 Soame Jenyns is said to be the best. If so, bad indeed is that best ; and 

 it can argue very little presumption in any one to offer a new essay. 



The original was published in 1759, by Mr. Browne, a barrister, who 

 had received his education at Westminster school, and Trinity College, 

 Cambridge. 



I subjoin the introductory passage of the original, together with my own 

 essay to " do it out of Latin," as the phrase is ; certain at least, that by 

 the insertion of the former, I shall afford a great treat to the classical 

 reader of our pages. Those who know how much the members of a pub- 

 lic school pride themselves in its successful flirtatious with the Latin muse, 

 will find a sufficient apology for my endeavouring to recall attention to 

 this boast of the disciples of Elia, when I subscribe myself 



An Old AA'estjiinstkh. 



