1798. ] 
trth. The fociety of natural hiftory in 
Paris, defervedly clafles among thofe 
which have rendered the greateft fervices 
to the caufe of f{cience, fince the revolu- 
tion. A leéture of public inftruction is 
held every ten days, which is generally 
_ given by one of the members, and which 
is open to all the lovers of natural hiftory. 
Premiums are propofed for differtations ; 
one of which, by the late C. Herman, 
jun. (whofe early deceale was a great lofs 
to the republic of letters) on the apferous 
¢lafs of infeéts, may be faid to conftitute 
an epocha in the annals ot natural hiftory. 
The fociety has publifhed a volume of 
memoirs, in folio, entitled,  Lranfac- 
tions of the Society of Natural Hiflory?” Tt 
has likewile erected a ftatue to the creat 
Linneus, in the National Garden of 
Plants, and, at the period when every 
public inftruétion was fufpended, gave 
lectures on the different branches ot {ci- 
ence belonging to its department. Several 
intelligent and fkilful navigators, among 
others thofe fent in fearch of the unfor- 
‘tunate La Péroufe, as well as thofe which 
accompany thé prefent expedition under 
BuoONAPARTE, are members of this fo- 
ciety. 
The above is a brief ftatement of fa&s 
relative to the prefent ftate of public in- 
fruction, the fciences, the arts, and the 
progrefs of national literature in France; 
and although fhort, it will ferve to prove, 
that fo far trom the French nation having 
degenerated into barbarifin in confe- 
quence of the revolution, as a Republic 
it has carried every branch of human 
knowledge far beyond its former limits, 
and has claim to the reverence of the 
friends of mankind, more from its zealous 
exertions in this refpect, than from the 
fplendours of its martial triumphs. May 
the example be deemed worthy of imita- 
tion by fome of the other governments of 
Europe! AGL 

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
OUR Magazine for June contained 
a letter from Dr. WiLLICH, on which 
1 beg leave to offer a few remarks. 
ir. WILLICH muft undoubtedly have 
had much trouble in collecting his in- 
Jormation on the ftate of literature in 
Germany ; and exhibits, with great pre- 
cifion, the fecundity of the preis in that 
country. It is not my intention to dwell 
en any of his remarks, except thofe which 
relate to ** Wieland’s Oberon.” 
Dr. Win Lich ftates, that Mr. Sorun- 
BY, in tranilating this poem, has twilted 
Remarks on Dr. Willich’s Tranflation from Oberon. 
87 
the original into a variety of turns and 
forms, merely for the fake of rhyme; 
and fubjoins his own fpecimen in blank 
verfe, faying that he has followed +h> 
author trom line to line, without chang- 
ing a fingle idea. Inftead of this, it a 
pears to me that he has, in the firft ftanza, 
entirely perverted the meaning of the au- 
thor. The original commences thus: 
‘¢ Noch cinmal fattelt mir den Hippogryfeny 
ihr Mufen, 
Zum Ritt ins alte romantifche land! 
Wie lieblich um meinen entfeffelten bufen 
Der holde wahnfinn fpielt! Wer fchlang dag 
magifche band 
Um meine firne? Wer treibt von meinem 
augen den nebel 
Der auf det vorwelt, wundern liegt ?”* 
Ich {ch in buntem gewithl, bald fiegend, 
_ bald befiegt, ‘ 
Des ritters gutes ichwert, der Heiden blinks 
efide fabel. 
Dr. WILLICH’s “feral tranflation is as 
follows :° 
“<Once more, kind Mufes,faddle the Hyppogryf, 
Ani fpeed my ride to regions of romance ! 
What charms are thefe round my unfetter’d 
breaft ? ' 
Delightful dreams! who twits the magis 
wreath 
Round Oz’rown’s brow? Who frees mine eyes 
from fhades, 
That hide the wonders of the ancient world ?”” 
I fee, in various groupes, now victor, captive 
now, 
The knight’s good fword, the pagan’s dazzling 
{teel. 
It has, I believe, ever been the cuftorm 
of epic poets to precede their ftory by an 
invocation to the Mufes, cr to fome one 
of them. Wieland may not, to be fure, 
exa&tly follow his predeceffors, when he 
requelis the ladies to act in the capacity 
of grooms; but their ready acquieicence 
in faddling his fteed, evinces that they did 
not think themfelves degraded by the em- 
ployment. Itis the pcet, therefore, who 
is fiippoied to be {peaking throughout the 
the nrit fanza. Why, then, is Oberon 
intreduced by’ Dr. WILLICH into the 
fifth line? The original plainly fhews 
the error; fer the words are, ** xm meine 
ftirne ;*’ which, literally rendered, imply 
«* around my brow:”” an expreffion that 
exacily agrees with the preceding and fub- 
fequent lines, and is equally adapted to 
Dr. WILLICH’s purpole, becaute it con- 
tains the fame number of -fyllables as his 
own. . The infpired bard, fpeaking of 
himéfelf, fays, ‘* ay ride—my unfettered 
breatt—mne eyes—I {ee’’—and into the 
midft cf thele expreflions is Oberon puthed 
by Dr. WiuLich, to be decked with 
cae, 
‘ 
+ 
] 

