¥796.] _ Similes of Homer, 
Tendering word by word, as is evidently 
proved by the various verfions of Homer 
and Virgil in the European languages, 
and particularly in the Englifh. They 
preferve the fpirit of the original, with- 
out fuppreffing or interpolating entire 
paflages. Nor can the trdnflator avail 
himfelf of the authority of Horace ; for it 
clearly appears from the context, that this 
precept is entirely for mutators, and not 
for tranflators; and certainly there is a 
wide difference between an imitation and 
a tranflation. A tranflation, in which 
fuch great liberties are taken, may very 
eatily deceive the reader.—Let us fup- 
pofe, for inftance, that fome future Vol- 
taire, without knowing the Portuguefe 
Janguage, fhould with to form fome idea 
of the poem of Camoens, by means of 
Mr. Mickle’s verfion: if he fhould ima- 
gine that the defcription of the battle and 
rempeft in the ninth book is in avery in- 
flated ftyle, and abounds with falfe fub- 
dime, he would naturally attribute all 
thefe faults to the original, notwithitand- 
ing not a trace of this defcription is to be 
difcovered there. 
‘ceived, as Voltaire himfelf was, by im- 
puting to Camoens the abfurdities of 
Hanfhaw. 
“‘ We have thus, with all poffible brevi- 
ty, made the Portuguefe reader acquaint- 
ed with the diligence which Mr. Mickle 
has beftowed upon the poem of Camoens, 
and the language and hiftory of Portugal; 
and we have given him fome idea of the 
labour he has taken to compile fo many 
alluftrations of his author, and to defend 
him from the infolent criticifm of Rapin 
and Voltaire, and other critics, who were 
equally ignorant of Portuguefe literature : 
an all this the tranflator has fhown vaft 
erudition, and an aceurate judgment. 
“ After allowing this, we muft not 
pats over fome grofs errors of Mr. 
Mickle, though it is with reluctance that 
we remark them, In many places he 
treats the Portuguefe nation with great 
incivility, and particularly in a note to 
the life of Camoens, where he inveighs 
againft our lord cardinal king Henry, for 
the punifhment which he juftly infliéted 
upon the Scotch Buchanan, from which 
he draws an inference very injurious to 
the Portuguefe nation, and very unwor- 
thy as well of the gentleman as of the 
philofopher ; for, in the nature of things, 
the character which he gives of the Por- 
tuguefe cannot poffibly be true of any ci- 
vilized people. 
“Tt might have been hoped, too, that in 
Thus would he be de- 
Virgil, and Milton 
a work of this nature no place could have 
been found for introducing controverfies 
upon religion; but he has taken care ta 
fhow his hatred and averfion for the Ca- 
tholic faith. He repeats over and over 
again, the old and a!moft forgotten calum- 
nies of idolatry, and other fimilar charges 
789 
~ 
which have been fo completely refuted a 
thoufand and a thoufand times, and of 
which now all fenfible’ Proteftants are 
themfelves afhamed. He falfifies facts 
and makes ridiculous and abfurd allufions, 
which prove nothing except the malignity 
of the author. 
countrymen, and increafe its fale.” 
Having prefented you with this tranf- 
lation from the Portuguefe Review, L 
fhall referve fome additional obfervations 
of my own till your next publication. 
ba. ot 

For the Monthly Magazine. 
SIMILIES OF HOMER, VIRGIL, AND 
MILTON (CONTINUED). 
oT and Rivers may form 
the next clafs of objeéts ufed for fi- 
militude. The former are frequently 
introduced by Homer, who, as an inha- 
bitant of a mountainous country, 
well acquainted with their appearance 
and effects. In his different pictures of 
this kind we fhall perceive, amidft the 
circumftances of general refemblance, 
thofe variations which clearly indicate 
the original painter from nature. The 
following is one of the moft fimple in 
its circumftances: 
As the full river pours along the plain, 
When, {well’d by thowers, it rufhes from the 
‘hills, 
And many pines, and many aged oaks, 
Bears down the ftream, difgorgine in the main 
A muddy deluge: thus, in hot purfuit, 
The mighty Ajax o’er the troubled field 
Drove men and fteeds. IL. xi. 4926 
The fimile here is perfeétly juft, and 
anfwers in more than one particular. 
Thus, the oaks and pines may well re- 
prefent the warriors of note who fall 
before the hero; while the torrent load- 
ed with mud exprefles the general rout 
of the Trojan troops. This is a pur- 
fuit: but when Diomed makes his at- 
tack on the Trojans, as yet drawn up in 
a body to oppofe him, though breaking 
at the firft onfet, the very fame fimile is 
judicioufly varied in fome of its circum- 
flances ; 
sH2 
T his he does, no doubt, te 
accommodate his book to the tafte of his 
was. 
He 

