tholic religion ia Ireland.’ He now gives 
in the words of Father Daly, an analyfis 
of all the traéts prefixed to the Englith 
Lufiad, with feveral extraéts. ‘* After 
thefe preliminary differtations,” fays he, 
** comes the tranflation of the poem,which 
may be pronounced the moft poetical that 
has yet appeared.’ The tranflation is 
accompanied with notes, hiftorical and 
critical, in which he difplays great know- 
ledge of the hiftory of Portugal, and a 
found critical judgment. 
«« Yet, though it be not our intention to 
¢riticife the Englifh tranflator, who has 
done fo much honour and juftice to Ca- 
moens, we ought not to pais over in to- 
tal filence, the various liberties which he 
has taken wich the original, fome which 
he has confeffed, and others which he has 
mot confefled. Of thofe which he has 
not confeffed, we will give two exam- 
ples, leaving it to others to determine 
how far atranflator is juftified in fo al- 
tering and foiftmg interpolations on his 
text, 
“Tn the fiction of Adamaftor, Camoens 
makes tnat giant relate his hiftory, and 
that of his’ amours, to Gama himfelf: 
the tranflator, however, takes ancther 
way ; for he makes the {pectre difappear 
after breathing out prophetical threats 
again the Portuguefe, and the king of 
Melinda; then relates, that they had 
among them this tradition, that in the 
war of the giants, one had fallen upon 
their kingdom, whofe groans were nightly 
heard; that by the incantations of a holy 
man, the {peétre had been obliged to de- 
clare who he was ; and then the hiftory 
follows. The other place is in the be- 
ginning of the ninth book :—According 
to Camoens, the Zamorim releafes the 
Portuguefe goods, which in the 8th 
book had been landed ; and he fimply re- 
lates in the ninth, that Gama, impatient 
to depart for Europe, commands his fac- 
tors to embark with their goods, but he 
seceives intelligence, that his faétors are 
detained: Gama immediately orders 
fome merchants to be feized who had 
come on board his fhip to fell precious 
ftones, and prepares to depart. The wives. 
and children of the merchants who are 
thus feized on board the fhips, goto the 
Zamorim, and complain that their huf- 
bands and fathers are loft. Moved by 
their cries, the Zamorim releafes the 
Portuguefe factors, and reftores the 
goods, and Gama departs from Calicut, 
But the tranflator relates all this different- 
ly : according to his account, in the ninth 
kook, Gama is a prifoner at the court of 
Mickle’ s Lufiads 
[Nove 
the Zamorim, who in an arrogant fpeech 
commands that commander to make his 
fhips draw nearer to the fhore and to de 
liver up to him their fails. Gama re- 
fufes to confent, perceiving the evil inten- 
tions of the Zamorim. Immediately he 
makes a fignal for his fleet to attack the 
Portuguefe fhips: a defcription of the 
engagement follows, and a tempef arifes 
which totally deftroys the fleet of the Za- 
morim. ‘The victoricus armada now draws 
nearer to the fhore, and begins to thunder 
with its artillery upon the city. Theter- 
rified populace clamour around the palace, 
and demand the releafe of the faétors ; 
and their prince, alarmed by the deftruc- 
tion of his fleet, the infurreétion of his 
people, and the intrepidity of the Portu- 
guefe, releafes Gama, and permits him to 
embark. This account occupies more 
than three hundred lines. to which not 
one corre{ponding line is to be found in 
the original. 
‘“‘¥ point out only thefe two inftances, for 
the {ake of brevity; but the reader who is 
verfed in the Englifh language, as well 
as in the Portuguefe, will find many others 
in which the tranflator has. either fupe 
preffed paffages that are in the original, 
or inferted paffages that are not. 
“ Mr. Mickle has, indeed, in his preli- 
minary Differtation, confeffed, in general 
terms, that his intention was to give an 
Engiifh Lufiad in a free poetical fpirit; 
and he fays truly enough, that a “ literal 
tranflation of poetry is in reality a fole- 
cifm. You may conftrue your author, 
indeed; but if with fome tranflators you 
boaft that you have left your author te 
{peak for himfelf, that you have neither 
added nor diminifhed, you have, in reality, 
grofsly abufed him, and deceived yourfelf. 
Your literal tranflation can have no claim 
to the original felicities of expreffion, the 
energy, elegance, and fire of the original 
poetry. It may, indeed, bear a refem- 
blance, but fuch a one as a corpfe in the 
fepulchre bears to the former man when 
he moved in the bloom and vigour of life. 
“¢ Nec verbum verbo gurabis reddere, fidus 
s* Interpres—— 

was the tafte of the Auguftan age. None 
but a poet can tranflate a poet. The 
freedom which this precept gives, will, 
therefore, in a poet’s hands, not only in- 
fule the energy, elegance, and fire of his 
author’s poetry into his. own verfion, but 
will give it-alfo the fpirit of an original.” 
“ But notwithftanding this, atranflatio 
ought to be a faithful reprefentation 9 
the original, which it may be, without 
rendering 
