ter.

We object in p. 12 to an inelegance in the following expreffion: Had not a fpeech of M. Cato's infufed new vigour into the refolutions of the houfe. A vulgarifm occurs foon afThose who fat next him inftantly moved off, and deterritus is ill paraphrafed in the fame page, difpirited by this refentment. Recidit rurfus in difcrimen aliud, is very awkwardly rendered in the next page," But he had scarcely fooner emerged from his late difafter, than he fell again into a fefh danger.' For fortitus, in p. 14, we obferve the quaint and inharmonious words," he got by lot." In p. 15, "dreading what enterprife he might attempt," falls fhort in accuracy and elegance of the Latin, metus ceperat, nihil non aufurum. Provinciæ in the fame chapter, is improperly rendered provinces. The word department would have fuited the original term, which implies jurifdiction of other kinds, befides the government of a country; and, in the paffage of which we are fpeaking, it has a reference to the care of woods and roads. It is not, however, that we often have occafion to notice fo many faults in the fame compafs, fince the tranflation is certainly, on the whole, creditable to the learning and accuracy of Dr. Thomfon. But there is one circumftance, which we must remark as faulty, although, doubtlefs, it has arifen from the wish of rendering the verfion more intelligible to our countrymen. In things, which bear an affinity to the fame fubjets in our language, the tranilator has rendered the refen.blance more complete than it really is, by bestowing English names upon Roman objects: an affection which has been abundantly and juftly ridiculed in Blackwell's Court of Auguftus; a book otherwife valuable and entertaining. Thus curia is familiarly translated "the houfe," p. 12; rogatione promulgata, prefenting a bill;" and leges ferenti, "preferring fome bills." The following fentence has alfo, in our opinion, too English a caft: "The fenate, which had met in hafte upon occafion of the tumult, gave him their chanks by fome of the leading members of the houfe, fent for him, and after a high commendation of his behaviour, cancelled their former vote, and restored him to his place in the affembly." p. 13. Surely primores viros, and indicto priore decreto, might have met with fome appropriate and correfponding phrafes, without misleading

This is not the only colloquial inaccuracy which we have obferved in the book. The following are very reprehenfiole: "five foot and nine inches high," p. 164;"what is your Ajax a doing? p. 167; finding himfelf a dying," p. 302.

the

the English reader by a forced refemblance of modern with ancient manners. Thus alfo, in p. 46, we read of "Cæfar holding the affizes;" p. 47, of his "travelling in a post-chaife;". and p. 259, of foldiers returning to camp after a furlough." In thefe cafes we fancy ouifelves reading a modern history or gazette, when our attention is fuddenly roufed by the occurrence of foreign and ancient names, by a mention of tagas and fefterces; and by a stiffness and newnefs of phrafe, which reminds us that the original of what we are reading is Latin.

After ftating that the tranflator has fallen into the very oppofite errors, of not giving any English to fome Latin* phrafes and names, and of giving too English a form to others, it is but justice to remark, that when Dr. Thomson affumes the character of an original writer, his ftyle is not fo chargeable with the ftiffness and obfcurity which often appears in the translation. The blemishes we have noted may, no doubt, be attributed to the difficulty and perplexity attending a translation from a dead language. Of thefe difficulties we are thoroughly aware, and wish to make every candid allowance for them: "but ftill it is our duty to remark that they have occafionally operated to the diíadvantage of the book before us; efpecially as we doubt not that it might have been improved confiderably, by beftowing upon it a little more time and attention.

In perufing the records of past times, we are naturally ftruck with thofe circumftances which have any reference to the prefent. We quote the following paffage concerning Auguftus, with more pleasure than we could have done fix months ago.

"Once, in a season of scarcity, and when it was extremely difficult to fupply the public exigence, he ordered out of the city all the companies of flaves brought thither for fale, the gladiators belonging to the mafters of defence, and all foreigners, excepting phyficians, and the teachers of the liberal sciences. A part of the flaves in every family were likewife ordered to be difmiffed. When, at last, plenty was reftored, he writes thus: I was much inclined to abolish for ever the practice of allowing the people corn at the public expence, becaufe they truft fo much to it, that they really neglect their tillage; but I did not perfevere in fuch a defign; because I was pretty certain that the practice would fometime or other be revived, to gratify the people."

* Togas, p. 132; cuneus, p. 136; talus, denarius, a Venus, meaning the lucky calt of the dice, which is not explained, p. 158; laticlavian tunic, p. 275; pegma, p. 343; pervigilium, scabella, palla, p. 365.

He

He fo managed that affair ever after, that he was no lefs attentive to the interests of the hutbandmen and traders abroad, than to those of the citizens." P. 133.

Of Auguftus we further read,

"He always abhorred the title of Lord, as a fcandalous affront And when, in a mimic piece, performed on the theatre, at which he was prefent, thefe words were expreffed, "O juit and gracious Lortl," and the whole company, with joyful acclamations, tellified their approbation of them, as being applied to hi; he both immediately put a flop to their indecent flattery, by the waving of his hand, and the feverity of his looks, and next day publicly declared his difplea-. fure by proclamation. He never afterwards would fuffer himself to be addreffed in that manner, even by his own children or grandchildren, either in jeft or earnest, and forbid them the ufe of all fuch complimentary expieffions to one another." P. 143.

Tiberius carefully kept in view the maxims of Auguftus; and this among others was not forgotten, as we obferve in p. 270. We may however remark, that what Suetonius feems to afcribe to the modefty or public fpirit of Auguftus, may more juftly be deemed the refult of his policy or his fears. Auguftus was fenfible," obferves Gibbon, "that mankind is governed by names; nor was he deceived in his expectation, that the fenate and people would fubmit to flavery, provided they were refpectfully affered, that they ftill enjoyed their ancient freedom.". Hiftory of the Decline, &c. cap. 3. It is curious to remark how clofely the introduction of lofty imperial titles was annexed to the progrefs of defpotism, and the confequent extinction of every the minuteft fpark of liberty. After the reign of the imperious yet fickle Diocletian, "the purity of the Latin language was debafed by adopting, in the inte courfe of pride and flattery, a profufion of epithets which Tuly would fcarcely have understood, and which Auguftus would have rejected with indignation." Vid. Gibbon, cap. 17.` It may not be unfeafonable to remark, that the term decorns, was as offenfive to the ears of Greek republicans, as the correfponding term "dominus," was to the Romans. This is diftin&ly marked by the tragic poets, who were interested in finding out, and in gratifying, the prejudices of their audience.

*Αναξ, θεὸς γὰρ ΔΕΣΠΟΤΑΣ καλεῖν χρεών, Hipp. SS.

is the addrefs to an Athenian; for the fame reafon, demons is properly applied to Hector as an Afiatic prince. Vid. Rhes. 239, 267. Let us return to Auguftus.

"He scarcely ever entered any city or great town, or departed from it, but in the evening or night, to avoid giving any perfon the

trouble

trouble of attending him. During his confulfhips, he commonly walked the streets on foot; but at other times was carried in a covered chair. He admitted the commonality, promifcuoufly with people of fuperior rank, to pay their refpects to him; receiving the petitions of fuch as came to wait upon him with fo much affability, that he once jocofely rebuked a man, by telling him, You prefent your memcir with as much hesitation, as if you were offering money to an ele phant." P. 143.

The humour of this reply feems to be in a great measure loft, by the ufe of the general term " money," inftead of a particular fpecies of it of finall value, ftipem." The taste as well as humour of the elegant Jortin, led him to preserve the fpirit of the reply more accurately. "The Emperor jested with him, and told him, that he looked as if he was giving an halfpenny to an elephant." Remarks on Eccl. Hift. vol. ii. P. 93.

Having corrected one paffage by the affiftance of Jortin, we fhall beg leave to illuftrate another from the fime excellent work. "For the night" when Caligula was flain, "was intended a fort of play, in which the fabulous accounts of the internal regions were to be reprefented by Egyptians and Ethiopians" P. 368. Betaufe, fays a commentator, they refembled the inhabitants of Tartarus in colour and look. This bears a ftronger refemblance to a popular notion now prevalent, than many would at firft fufpect. "The Devils ufed often to appear to the monks in the figure of Ethiopian boys or men, and thence probably the painters learned to make the Devil black." Jortin, vol. iii. p. 20. Our fair readers may probably be amused, when they hear that their great great grandmothers, in the days of Pliny, were ambitious, on certain folemn occafions, to refemble thefe Ethiopians By the total exclufion of every colour from their drefs in time of mourning, our modern fair feem defirous of rivalling ue dames of old. We trust they will not make the refemblance complete, in another point, although of late there has been a tendency to it." Simile plantagini glaftum in Galliâ vocatur, quo Britannorum conjuges nuiúfque toto corpore oblitæ, quibufdam in facris et nude incedunt, Ethiopum colorem imitantes."

From the extravagancies of Caligula, we fhall make one or two extracts, as favourable specimens of Dr. T.'s manner, and then pafs on to an examination of the additional matter contained in the volume.

Plin. Natur. Hiftor. lib. 22, cap. 2. Edit. Brotier.

"He

"He expofed to fale, in the way of auction, all that was left of the furniture of his public fhows for the diverfion of the people, and obliged the company to purchafe his commodities at fo high a price, that fome were ruined in their fortunes by it, and bled themfelves to death. It is a well known ftory that is told of Aponius Saturninus, who happening to fall afleep as he fat by at the fale, Caius called out to the auctioneer not to overlook the Prætorian perfonage that nodded to him fo often; and accordingly the falefman went on with his bufinefs, pretending to take the nods for tokens of affent, until thirteen gladiators were knocked off to him, at the fum of nine millions of fefterces." P. 354.

6

At last, as if resolved to make an end of the war at once, drawing up his army upon the fhore of the ocean, with his balife and other engines of war, whilft nobody could imagine what he intended to do, on a fudden he commanded them to gather up the fea fhells, and fill their helmets, and the laps of their coats with them, calling them the spoils of the ocean, due to the Capitol and the Palatium." Asa monument of his fuccefs, he raifed a high tower, upon which he or dered lights to be put in the night-time, for the direction of fhips at fea; and then promifing the foldiers a donative of a hundredt denarii a man, as if he had furpaffed the most eminent examples of geneGo your ways,' faid he, and be merry, go and be rich.' rofity. P. 359.

At fuch extravagancies we can finile; but we turn away with difguft and abhorrence, when we find the fame temper indulged in the most wanton and capricious acts of violence and murder. Such furely were not the acts of a tyrant, but à madman; and we are furprised that more attention has not been paid to the defcription which this author has given of his mental infirmities.

"He was crazy both in body and mind, being fubject, when a boy, to the falling fick nefs. When he arrived at the age of manhood, he would endure fatigue tolerably well, yet fo that, occafionally, he was liable to a faintnels, during which he remained incapable of any effort, even for his own prefervation. He was not infenfible of the diforder of his mind, and fometimes had thoughts of retiring to purge his brain. It is believed that his wife, Cæfonia, adminiftered to him a

About 726561. 5s. It is a great defect in this tranflation, that the fums are not computed in English men y, which might easily have been done in the notes. We know of hardly any excep on to this remark, except in the note, p. 14, and even there the tri. um is computed wrongly, fince 1300 talents, at 1931. each, yield 2509ool. To fupply this defect, we refer our readers to the valuable and accurate treatife of Dr. Adam on Roman Antiquities, p. 496; when they will find many of the fums mentioned by Suetonius faithfully computed. Rev. + 31. 48. 7d.