afperity; the fame original and peculiar humour.-The author proceeds to obferve, that They hold forth vice and folly to ridicule in fo lively and ingenious a manner, that it may be doubted whether they would not, even now, produce a more beneficial effect than any fpecies of comedy fince devised.' This is a point extremely queftionable: the fatyrift, in fuch a cafe, might exclaim like Pope, Yes, I am proud; I must be proud to fee Safe from the bar, the pulpit, and the throne, But this facred weapon,' to use his words, should be to all but heav'n-directed hands, denied.' That Aristophanes was not altogether worthy the truft; and that it may be wielded to the annoyance of innocence and virtue, no lefs than to the confufion of vice, the Clouds fufficiently evince. 'Offenfive parts, it must be confeffed, there are; but whoever is the leaft converfant with the writings of Ariftophanes will never conceive them to have been the refult of a propenfity to ribaldry, much lefs of an incapacity to furnish fuperior entertainment. Nor can we imagine they were introduced merely in compliance with the then prevailing tafte of the Athenians. May we not therefore fairly fuppofe, that the groffness of thofe paffages, for which he has been cenfured, was purpofely adopted, to cover, in fome degree, his fatirical intention, and to make the battery he was preparing to open, fo as to give it greater effect?' These offenfive parts' give no very high idea of the delicacy of taste generally attributed to the Athenians, at least in the days of Aristophanes: they would now be heard with difguft by the upper gallery in a provincial theatre. The tranflator has judiciously foftened, or omitted, the most exceptionable. That the Grecian bard has often introduced ribaldry, as a cover to mask his fatyric battery, and, like Touchftone, ufed his folly as a ftalking-horse, under the presentation of that to fhoot his wit,' may probably be the cafe. That he at least fometimes facrificed his better judgment to please the vitiated taste of his audience feems evident from the firft fpeech. Sir, may I utter fome of my old jokes, At which the audience never fail to laugh ' This is fpoken by Xanthias, the flave of Bacchus, who • rides upon an afs, with a heavy bundle fufpended from a ftaff which he carries on his shoulder. Bacchus appears with C 4 a lion's a lion's fkin thrown over his own proper drefs, and with a great club in his hand, meaning to pafs for Hercules.' It may be obferved that, in this play, the Olympic deities are not exhibited in a more refpectable light than in the burletta of Midas. Yet the very fame people, who here laughed at the ludicrous reprefentation, not long afterwards, and partly perhaps through its author's means, facrificed Socrates, on fufpicion of his entertaining fome heterodox opinions relative to their divinityfhip. Can a ftronger inftance be given of the inconfiftency of human nature! unless we fuppofe the poet, like Rabelais, by afluming the fool's-cap, warded off the danger which a ferious expofure would almoft inevitably have produced. A king's jefter, in former times, has often excited Laughter by the fame fpeech that would have endangered. a minifter's head. The firft dialogue is replete with the fame kind of quibbling and low wit, to which Shakspeare condeicended for the entertainment of our ancestors, in the golden days of queen Elizabeth and her profound fucceffor. A fhort fpecimen will be futlicient. Xanthias, obliged to carry a heavy burthen, and prohibited from uttering his indecent jokes, complains of the double hardship. Bacchus replies, • What faucinefs and delicate airs!—I B. When thou'rt born thyself? Xench Why, to my forrow. Sac. Say carries pet the ats whate'er thou bear'st ? •Who th amp'd the door? fome centaur certainly The tranflator fuppofes Hercules fays this, laughing at the appearance of Bacchus, whofe perfon and difpofition we are to fuppofe very unfit for the character he had affumed.' We fhould rather imagine that he alludes to Xanthias and his courfer; which in the prefentation might have appeared unruly, and kicked against the door. The flave's ridiculous figure, contrafted with the formidable idea conceived of the centaurs, muft probably have produced a laughable effect on the audience. The fpeech preceding that we have quoted will warrant either conjecture. 1 The fcene between Xanthias and Eacus, who is reprefented as a domeftic of Pluto's, will poffibly give a higher idea of Ariftophanes' humour; it will at leaft fhew that the characteriftic qualities of the great and their menials, in his days, were not unlike the prefent... ac. By Jove thy master's quite the man of fashion. Xanth. Why how fhou'd he be otherwife?-I'm fure Whoring and drinking are his fole pursuits. Eac, How happen'd it he did not rate thee well, And cudgel thee, when thou a flave dar'dst pass Thyfelf for him? Xanth. 'Twas well for him he did not. Eac. Why now thou treat'ft him as a fervant ought, And as I'd like to serve my master. Xanth. Pray, Wou'dft like it? Eac. 'Tis the height of happiness To me when I can curfe him fecretly. Xanth. What! when well thrash'd thou goeft out muttering? ac. E'en then it joys me. Xanth. Or when thou art bid Do twenty things at once? Eac. Not 1, by Jove! Xanth. But, my illuftrious brother ;-when thou liften'ft Eac. The wond'rous pleasure makes me almost mad. ac. O Jupiter!-I can't contain myself.' The first part of this performance is chiefly employed in defcribing fome ludicrous adventures of Bacchus in the inferior regions: the latter, in contrafting the refpective merits, or rather defects, of Efchylus and Euripides. Their characters are faithfully drawn, though with fome degree of feverity, in the following chorus. How will the bard of furious foul His flaming eyes in frenzy roll, To fee his wily foe preparing to engage! Grand Grand fhall now the contest be Of glitt'ring phrafeology; While one shall ev'ry ftrain'd conceit refine, And shake his fhaggy mane, A low'ring frown his brow fhall wear As from the veffel's fide by storms are torn Íts folid planks in well-wedg'd durance join'd, Or as afar the dreadful sounds are borne When from earth's centre bursts th' imprison'd wind. With pow'rs of pliability And tuneful tongue the other fraught, Studious of fmoothest harmony, Shall twift and torture ev'ry thought, While, with fuperior fubtilty, In many a nicely-labour'd phrafe, Retorts upon his rivals founding lays.' The lyric parts, from the intermixture of burlefque images with genuine poetry, are peculiarly difficult to be rendered with fuccefs. The tranflator, however, though fome inaccuracies occur, has acquitted himself with credit; and his notes 'are fenfible and judicious. He had many difficulties to encounter the original is often obfcure; many of its allufions, that formerly might fet the house in a roar, are now irretriev ably loft; and others, that by the zeal of commentators are fomewhat elucidated, no longer preferve their former poignancy. Such is the fate that will attend all those who merely paint the living manners!-If we do not think so highly of the Grecian bard as his tranflator, we cannot but allow that a complete verfion of his comedies is to be defired, and hope that he will be induced to purfue an undertaking for which he feems perfectly qualified. We would then advise him to give the life of Aristophanes, connected with the manners and politics of the time. Many paffages in his plays would reflect and borrow light from an interefting period of hiftory, and be an acquifition to the literary world. The The Patriot. A Tragedy. 15. 6d. Altered from the Italian of Metaftafio. Shepperson and Reynolds. 8vo. THE author confeffes, that, though called an alteration this is only an ' humble tranflation of the Themistocles of Metaftafio; but it must be our bufinefs to ascertain its character with greater precifion. The plot and the fentiments. are really those of the Italian: the conduct of the play is not very different; for in one place there is only a flight variation of a scene, and the two first acts of the opera are divided into four in the tranflation. The language is elegant and copious: indeed from its copioufnefs alone the play is extended to nearly the usual fize of our English tragedies. In fome inftances new fentiments are introduced; and in one or two places a line of the original has unaccountably escaped the notice of the tranflator: even in the firft fcene, the following paffage is omitted in its proper place : Adattarfi alla forte.' debbono i faggi The fentiments of the original are in general fo well preserved, and the language is fo easy, and often fo highly ornamented, that we do not perceive, without the Italian before us, any difagreeable effects from the enlargement. Thofe who are acquainted with Metaftafio, muft have frequently obferved an energy, and an abruptnefs, which, in fome fituations, add greatly to the delufion of the fcene; in others, they hurry on the bufinefs with too great precipitation. We think that the tranflator, Mr. Hamilton, has not always been attentive to the effects: the whole is uniformly extended, and confequently fome paffages have greater force, and in others the impreffion is more languid than it ought to be. The operas of Metastafio are indeed the works of a glowing fancy: his language is the vivid reprefentation of poetic inspiration. Every thing is dictated in a moment; and the fire of a first impreffion is not cooled by the polish of critical accuracy. With the tranflator every circumftance is neceffarily different; fo that we are not surprised, either that Mr. Hoole or Mr. Hamilton have been unequal to the expreffion of the manner, the coftumè, if we may be allowed the term, of the original. As the argument of this play is not generally known to the English reader, we shall give a brief analysis of it. After the battle of Salamis, we learn from Plutarch, that the Athenians, either fearing the power, or envying the glory of Themistocles, listened to the mifreprefentations of faction, and banished their deliverer. The hero. thought himself not fafe |