and when the Macedonians had overthrown the empire of Perfia, the countries that became fubject to Grecian dominion ftudied only the Grecian literature. The books of the conquered nations, if they had any among them, funk into oblivion; Greece confidered herself as the miftrefs if not as the parent of arts, her language contained all that was fuppofed to be known, and, except the facred writings of the Old Teftament, I know not that the library of Alexandria adopted any thing from a foreign tongue.

The Romans confeffed themselves the scholars of the Greeks, and do not appear to have expected, what has fince happened, that the ignorance of fucceeding ages would prefer them to their teachers. Every man who in Rome afpired to the praise of literature, thought it neceffary to learn Greek, and had no need of verfions when they could ftudy the originals. Translation, however, was not wholly neglected. Dramatick poems could be understood by the people in no language but their own, and the Romans were fometimes entertained with the tragedies of Euripides and the comedies of Menander. Other works were fometimes attempted; in an old fcholiaft there is mention of a Latin Iliad, and we have not wholly loft Tully's verfion of the poem of Aratus; but it does not appear that any man grew eminent by interpreting another, and perhaps it was more frequent to tranflate for exercife or amufement, than for fame.

The Arabs were the first nation who felt the ardour of tranflation; when they had fubdued the eastern provinces of the Greek empire, they found their captives wifer than themselves, and made hafte VOL. VIII.

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to

to relieve their wants by imparted knowledge. They difcovered that many might grow wife by the labour of a few, and that improvements might be made with fpeed, when they had the knowledge of former ages in their own language. They therefore made hafte to lay hold on medicine and philofophy, and turned their chief authors into Arabick. Whether they attempted the poets is not known; their literary zeal was vehement, but it was fhort, and probably expired before they had time to add the arts of elegance to thofe of neceffity.

The study of ancient literature was interrupted in Europe by the irruption of the northern nations, who fubverted the Roman empire, and erected new kingdoms with new languages. It is not ftrange, that fuch confufion fhould fufpend literary attention; those who loft, and thofe who gained dominion, had immediate difficulties to encounter, and immediate miferies to redress, and had little leifure, amidst the violence of war, the trepidation of flight, the diftreffes of forced migration, or the tumults of unfettled conqueft, to enquire after fpeculative truth, to enjoy the amulement of imaginary adventures, to know the hiftory of former ages, or ftudy the events of any other lives. But no fooner had this chaos of dominion funk into order, than learning began again to flourish in the calm of peace. When life and poffeflions were fecure, convenience and enjoyment were foon fought, learning was found the highest gratification of the mind, and tranflation became one of the means by which it was imparted.

At

At last, by a concurrence of many causes, the European world was rouzed from its lethargy; those arts which had been long obfcurely ftudied in the gloom of monafteries became the general favourites of mankind; every nation vied with its neighbour for the prize of learning; the epidemical emulation fpread from fouth to north, and curiosity and translation found their way to Britain.

NUMB. 69. SATURDAY, August 11, 1759

E that reviews the progrefs of English litera

HE

ture, will find that tranflation was very early cultivated among us, but that fome principles, either wholly erroneous or too far extended, hindered our fuccefs from being always equal to our diligence.

Chaucer, who is generally confidered as the father of our poetry, has left a verfion of Boetius on the Comforts of Philofophy, the book which feems to have been the favourite of the middle ages, which had been tranflated into Saxon by king Alfred, and illuftrated with a copious comment afcribed to Aquinas. It may be supposed that Chaucer would apply more than common attention to an author of fo much celebrity, yet has attempted nothing higher than a verfion ftrictly literal, and has degraded the poetical parts to profe, that the constraint of verfification might not obftruct his zeal for fidelity.

Caxton taught us typography about the year 1474. The first book printed in English was a tranflation. Caxton was both the tranflator and printer of the Deftruccion of Troye, a book which, in that infancy of learning, was confidered as the best account of the fabulous ages, and which, though now driven out of notice by authors of no greater ufe or value, ftill continued to be read in Caxton's English to the beginning of the prefent century.

Caxton proceeded as he began, and, except the poems of Gower and Chaucer, printed nothing but tranflations from the French, in which the original is fo fcrupulously followed, that they afford us little knowledge of our own language; though the words are English, the phrafe is foreign.

As learning advanced, new works were adopted into our language, but I think with little improvement of the art of tranflation, though foreign nations and other languages offered us models of a better method, till in the age of Elizabeth we began to find that greater liberty was neceffary to elegance, and that elegance was neceffary to general reception; fome effays were then made upon the Italian poets which deferve the praife and gratitude of pofterity.

But the old practice was not fuddenly forfaken; Helland filled the nation with literal tranflation, and, what is yet more ftrange, the fame exactnefs was obftinately practifed in the verfions of the poets. This abfurd labour of conftruing into rhyme was countenanced by Jonfon in his verfion of Horace; and whether it be that more men have learning than genius, or that the endeavours of that time were more directed

directed towards knowledge than delight, the accuracy of Jonfon found more imitators than the elegance of Fairfax; and May, Sandys, and Holiday, confined themselves to the toil of rendering line for line, not indeed with equal felicity, for May and Sandys were poets, and Holiday only a scholar and a critick.

Feltham appears to confider it as the established law of poetical tranflation, that the lines fhould be neither more nor fewer than those of the original; and fo long had this prejudice prevailed, that Denham praises Fanshaw's verfion of Guarini as the example of a new and noble way, as the first attempt to break the boundaries of cuftom and affert the natural freedom of the mufe.

In the general emulation of wit and genius which the festivity of the restoration produced, the poets fhook off their constraint, and confidered translation as no longer confined to fervile clofenefs. But reformation is feldom the work of pure virtue or unaffifted reason. Tranflation was improved more by accident than conviction. The writers of the foregoing age had at least learning equal to their genius; and being often more able to explain the fentiments or illustrate the allufions of the ancients, than to exhibit their graces and transfuse their spirit, were perhaps willing fometimes to conceal their want of poetry by profufion of literature, and therefore tranflated literally, that their fidelity might fhelter their infipidity or harfhnefs. The wits of Charles's time had feldom more than flight and fuperficial views, and their care was to hide their want of learning behind