368 
having feen an experiment performed; ° 
and his attempt will be even mcre perni- 
cious ‘than that of the prcjector’ who 
fhould engage in the moft difficult pro- 
cefies of chemiftry, without being aware 
of the formidable effeéts which may be. 
produced on natural bodies by heat and 
mixture. 
My opinion will probably ftrike you, 
fir, as fomewhat fingular; but, as it is. 
the refult of reading and experience, I 
cannot rekinguilh it in compliment to the 
prejudices of the world. J am convinced 
that thefe objeéts are not to be achieved 
by confining ouitelves to the fludy and 
perufal of compilations, however elegant 
or elaborate they may be. We muft, in 
fome inftances, have recourfe to compila- 
tions, but we fhould, as muchas poffible, 
extend our attentien to original hifto- 
rians. ‘The manners of nations can only 
be learned from works compofed upon 
the fpot, and of a date nearly coeval with 
the times which they defcribe. It has 
been the art of mercenary compilers, 
fuch as Hume, to reprefent contemporary 
hiftorians, as neceffarily unacquainted 
with the fecret motives of political tranf{- 
aGtions, and to accufe them of partiality ; 
put I confefs; fir, J have never been able 
to. derive’ much inftruétion from /ecreé 
hiftory, nor is Hume himfelf, in my opi- 
nion, one tittle more impartial than Lord 
Clarendon, in defcribing the dynafty of 
the Stuarts. | 
In ftudying hiftory, it is certainly of 
great advantage to follow the courfe of 
events in the chronological order—you 
have then the graduai progrefs of man 
from barbariim to refinement; from 
refinement to corruption, venality, and 
flavery ; from flavery back again to dark- 
nefs and ignorance ; and from this ftate, by 
afecond revolution. more wonderful than 
the former, again to knowledge, civiliza- 
tion, and liberty. 
The moft ancient hiftory extant, ex- 
cept the Bible, is that of HERODOTUS; 
and no hiftory was ever more delightful 
for its fimplicity, its perfpicnity, the in- 
terefting, yet unaffecied ftyle of the nar- 
‘rative, and the eafy and harmonious flow 
of the language. It is to be lamented, 
that we have no tranflation which con- 
veys an adequate idea of the beauties of 
the original, which are thus admirabl 
depicted by a poct of our own times: — 
é¢ The Dome expands—behold th’ hiftoric fire ! 
Tonic rofes mark his foft attire; 
Bold in his air, but graceful in his mien, 
As the fair figure of his fayour'd queeny 
On the Study of Hiftory, 
[ May, 
When her proud galley fham’d the Perfian van, 
And grateful Kerxes own’d her more than man. 
Soft as the fiream whofe dimpling waters play, 
And wind in lucid lapie their pleafing way, 
His rich Homeric elocution flows, 
For all the Mules modulate his profe 5 
Though blind credulity his Rep mifleadsy 
Thro’ the dark mift of her Egyptian meads 5 
Yet, when return’d to patriot pailions warm, 
He paints the progrefs of the Perfiza ftorm; 
In Truth’s illumin’d field his labours rear 
A trophy worthy of the Spartan {pear ” 
HAYLEY. 
Mr. Beloe’s tranflation, however, 
though not elegant, partakes, in fome 
mealure, of the fimplicity of the original. 
It may be read with advantage by the 
mere Englifh reader; but every man 
with a tolerable knowledge of Greek, 
fhouid drink at the Fountain-head. The 
hiftory of TsucipypEs takes not fo 
wide a {cope as that of Herodotus, but 
the period which he defcribes is intereft- 
ing, and his manner is incomparable. 
Smith’s tranflation is tolerably good, and 
even that of Hobbes may be read without 
difguft. If the reader is defirous of a 
more connected view of ancient hiftery, 
I do not know that any better writer on 
tne fubje& has yet appeared, than 
Roxiuin. Otr ANCIENT UNIVERSAL 
History is, on the whole, an excelient 
and elaborate compilation, but it) Js 
tedious, and the ityle is dry and inhar- 
monious ; it Is, therefore, a book rather 
for reference, than for ftudy. 
Of the Roman hiftorians there is a de- 
plorabie dearth of good tranilations. I 
have feen one of Livy, §¢ faithfully done 
into Englifh,”’ and printed in the lait cen- 
tury* ; the ftyle is villainous, and gives a 
moft unfavourable idea of the Roman elo- 
quence. Whether the terfe and fententi- 
ous SALLUST has a proper reprefentative 
in our language, or not, | cannottell; nor 
do. I know whether juftice has been ren- 
dered to the fmple, yet eloquent, narra- 
tive of Czsar, by any Britith writer. 
If there be any good tranilations of thefe 
authors, this is the order in which they 
are to be read—Livy, Salluft, Cetar. The 
EpistLeEs of CICERO are chiefly hifto- 
rical, and thefe are admirably tranflated 
by Mr.Melmoth. PLurarcu’s Livgs . 
fhould be read immediately after the 
Greek and Latin hiflorians, or rather in 
conjunction with them ; and we are not 
in want of a good tranflation of them, as 
Dr. LANGHORNE'’S is every thing that 
a man, not unreafonably faftidious, can 

* Since this was written, a new tranflation 
has been advertifed. le oat 
with | 
~ 
