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minds of the Romans a tafle for that art of which they is natu rally fubje,'led: nor could it boall offuch{avourable

had lately beeome fo much enamoured. Greece had, loog alleviating circumllanm as· the Greck, the prevailing

before this period, been corrupted by luxnry; their talle founds of the Latin being far lef, harmonious totbe ear: and

for the fine am had degenerated into unnecelfary refine· altbough the formation of tbe words are fucb as to admit

ment; and al1 their patriotifOl confilled in popular ba- of full and diflina found" and fo modulated as to lay

rangues and unmeaning declamation. Oratory was no

r~flraint

upon tbe voiee of the fpeaker; yet, to a per–

then fludied as a refined art; aod all the fubtleties fon uoaequainted with tbe language, they do not

coo.ey

óf it were taught by rule, \Vith as great eare as the gla- that enchaoting harmony fore,markable in tbe Greek lan.

diators were arterwards trained up in Rome. But while gnage. Tbe Latin i, flately and folemo, it does not ex·

ihey \Vere tbus idly tryiog who Ihould be the lord of cite difgufl; but at the fame time it does not charm the

theirown people, the.oerves of government were relaxed, ear, fo as to make it liflenwitb pleafed altention. To

on~

aod they became an eafy prey to every iovading power. aequainted with the language indeed, the nervous boldnef,

lo tbis Gtuatioo tbey became me

fubj,{/¡,

under me title of tbe thoughts, the harmonious rounding of the period"

of the

allin,

of Rome, and introduced among them the the ful1 fulemn fwelling of the founds, fo diflinguilhable

fame tafle for haranging which prevailed among them· in the mofl emineot writers in that language which have

felve,. Well acquaintedas they were with tbepowm of beeo preferved to us, allconrpire to make it pleafing and

their owo language, they fet themfelves with unwearied agreeable.-In thefe admired works we meet with 1111 it'

afliduity to polilh and improve that of their new mallers: beauties, without pereeiving any of il! defeas: aRd we

but with al1 their afliduity and paios tbey never were able natural1y admire, as perfea, a language wbicb is capable

to make it arrive at that perfeaion whieh their own lan· of producing fueh exeelleot works.-Yer \Vith all thefe

lluage had acquired; and in tbe Augullan age, wheo it feeming exeelleneie" this langoage is lef, copious, IInd

had arrived at the fummit ofits glory, Cieero bitterlycom- more limited in its Ilyle of cOOlpofition, thao many mo·

plains of it! want of copioufnef, in many particulars.

dero languages far lef, capable of precifion and accuracy

But as it was the defire of all who fludied this lan· than almoll any of thefe, and iofinitely behiod them all

guage with care, to make it capable of that Ilately digo in point of eafinefs io cooverfatioo. But thefe POiOl'

nity and pomp necelfary for public harangues; they fol· have been fo fully proved already, as to require no furo

lowed the genius of the laoguage in this particular, ther illullration.-Of the compoGtions in that language

and io a great meafure negleaed thofe lelfer delicacie, whith have been preferved to us, the

orationl

of Cicero

whieh form the pleafure of domeflic enjoyment ; fo that, are bell adapted to the genius of tbe language, aod lI'e

while it acquired more copioufnefs, more harmony, and there fee it in its utmoll perfeaion. In the

philofofhi(RI

precifion, it remained Ilifl' and inBexible for cooverfation I

'W"l,

of that grw author \Ve perceive fome ofits defeas ;

llor could the minute dillioaion of oice grammatical and it requires all the powers of that great mJn, to Ten·

rules be ever brought down to the apprehenfton of the der his

'fifllu

agreeable, a, thefe have the geniu, of

vulgar; fo that the language fpoken among the lower the language to flruggle with.-Next to oratory, hillory

clafs of people remained ,ude and unpolilhed even till the agrees with the genius of this language; and Czfar, itl

tnd of the mooarchy. The Huns who overrlln l· his Commentaries, has exhibited the language in its purefl

taly, incapable of acquiring any knowledge of fuch a dif· elegance, without the aid of pomp or foreign ornamento

licult and abllrufe

Iangu~ge,

never adopted it; and the ' --AmongthePoelS, Virgil has bell adapted his work!

native iohabitant! being made acquainted with a lan· to hi laoguage. The Bowing harmony and porop of ie

guage more natural and eafily acqui red, quicklyadopted il well adapted for Ihe epic flrain, and the correa deli.

that idiom Of fpeechint roduced by their conqueror!, al· cacy

his talle rendered him perfealy equal to the taJk:

though they Ilill retained many of thofewords which the But Horace is the ooly poet whofe force of genius was

con6ned nature of the barbarian language roade oecelfary able to overcome the bars which the langl1age threw in

io allow them, to exprefs their ideas.-And thus it was his way, aod fueceed in Iyric pomy. Were it oot for

Ihat me language of Rome, that proud miflrefs of the the brilliancy of the thoughts, and acutencfs of remarks,

world. from an origioal defea in.its formation, although which fo eminently dillinguilh this amhor's compofitions,

it had beencarried lOa perfeaioo in other refpea, far fu· his ode, would loog ere now have funk into mter obli–

perior to any nonhero language at that time, eafily gave .ioo.-But fo confciou, have all the Roman poets beeo

way tO them, and io

few ages the knowledge of it was of the unfitnefs of their language for eafy dialogue; tbae

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among mankind: while, on the contrary, the ,more 'almoll none of them, after Plautus and Terence, have at·

cafy nature of the Greek language has nill been able to tempted any dramatic

compufiti~ns

in thar langu' ge.-'–

keep fome night footing in the world, ahhough the na· Nor have we any reafon to regret that they neglcaed this

tions in which it has been fpoken have been fubjeaed to braneh of poeuy, as it is probable, if they had ever be–

the yoke of foreign dominion for upwards' of two thou- come fond of thefe, they woulrl hal'e been obliged too

fand yem, and their counuy has beeo twice ravaged by h"'e adopted (o many unnatural cootrivanw to render

barbarous nalÍoo" and more cruelly deprelfed tlun ever them agrecable, as \\'ould have prevented

lIS

(who orcourfe

¡he Romans were.

would have eonfitleredourfelves as bollnd tOfollow the",)

From the vieVl which we have alrcady given of the La· from makillg that progrefs in the drama which fo parti.

tin langu'ge, it appears evident, that its idiom was more Cl1larly difl inguilhes the

produ~ion!

~odern

r.inles..

nrialy tranrpofiti,'e than any other language yet known,

Themnd<rn

IIali_"

I.n~uage,

from.o

1I1Jtt~nt",n

quue

and \Vas attenucd WilU aH the defeas to which that idiom cemmon in literary [ubjcas, has beco uftully

c~~kd

cbld