the theatrical effect of his passionate characters, | As in trifling, so also in the most important nearly the whole of his pieces want that first of points, he degraded and demoralized the Attic stage. all requirements in any production of art-unity. His dramas could not but diffuse contempt of the I am aware, how great a favorite Euripides is gods. Euripides has often been praised for his with most of the readers of classical literature. I ridiculing them. He has been called philosophical too admire him, and when I had first written these and great in his morals by short-sighted zealots, and lectures, not having read of late many of his trage- men deceived by the beauty of the single lines.dies, I bore in mind only the delight I had so often To me, he appears to belong to those shallow minds— taken in reading them, and remembered those ad- a great number of which we might find also in our mirable Chorusses of the Phoenician Virgins, Iphi- days, who, having tasted little of philosophical docgenia in Aulis, Ion, the Bacchæ, &c., and thought trines, are so much delighted with their wisdom, of the mighty magic of his passions, but a new that the creed of their ancestors, that religion perusal of his tragedies destroyed this fancy, and which inspired them, that devotion which made I am compelled to state, as my opinion, that the them great, appears to them quite ridiculous;— faults before adverted to, are undeniable in this their splendid understanding overlooks its claims poet. His prologues have so often been noticed, entirely, and smiles with contempt or pity on those that I will not delay you with them. I remark who confide in it. But the high thoughts, the great only, that besides placing the audience au fait, as truths, which, though often mixed with errors, to the complicated intrigue of the play, in which form always the foundation of sincere devotion, are he often deviated from the established narrations, inaccessible to what is called their enlightened they are not unfrequently the medium, by which he spirit. Such narrow-minded, sophistical persons, binds different actions in his dramas together. For will find a good teacher in "the great Euripides," instance, his Hecuba, certainly in many respects who, in his wisdom, is so blind that he cannot see one of his best tragedies, consists of two altogether the grandeur of a religious idea, because his little incoherent pieces, but which are kept together mind clings only to some trifling circumstances, through the prologue of the ghost of Polydorus. We find, of course, a greater complication in his dramas, than in those of his predecessors; but the gradual, and naturally necessary development and explication of them, is wanted. Yet in a great part of them he must take his refuge in a "Deus ex machina," only to solve the plot, or to do justice to the injured heroes of the play. So we find it in his Orestes, Hippolytus, Supplicants, Iphigenia in Tauris, Bacchæ, Helena, Electra. The principal fault in his complications is, that they are not necessary and sufficiently natural, but too accidental and artificial. He was often led to them by the desire to bring out something new, in a form, in which it had not yet been composed by his rivals. For, the subjects of the drama, being chosen from the stock of the Greek mythology, were naturally enough exhausted by the fecundity of the dramatic poets, as, for instance, we find the story of Edipus, of Agamemnon, Orestes and others, treated by all three of them. A truly intuitive and original genius would not have required this means, which besides is often rather awkwardly made use of. His mind is, notwithstanding those many declamations on morality, which we find in his dramas, not so pure and noble, as those of Eschylus and Sophocles. His dear self appears often in the mouths of his actors, and in a manner which does him little honor. His rancorous utterances against his great rival, Eschylus, (for the pieces of the latter were against the custom, but by a special law of the Athenian people, still performed after his death,) are very unbecoming in tragedy, and show a little mind. by which it is accompanied. He undermined the *Not to be too hastily criticised! I think it needful here to observe, that the article on Euripides does not yet close here. THE POETRY OF THE MESSENGER. [We thank our able and experienced correspondent most sincerely for the excellent advice he gives us in the subjoined communication, and we promise him, if possible, to profit by it. The comparative indolence or indifference of the Southern Muse, has long been a subject of surprise ;for, that the materiel exists among us, and exists in abundance, no one can reasonably doubt. From various causes, the ardent spirits of the South have been allured by other objects, and into other paths of literary composition-but we hope ere long to have our pages embellished by some of the richest effusions of poetical genius. Adopting the hint of our correspondent, we hereby offer an honorary premium of a silver medal or cup, valued at ten dollars, for the best Poem containing not less than 75 nor more than 150 lines, which shall be transmitted to us on or before the 1st day of February next; and, in order to insure the utmost impar tiality, we do hereby constitute and appoint the following gentlemen, to wit: THOMAS RITCHIE, DR. HENRY MYERS, DR. AUGUSTUS L. WARNER, WM. B. CHITTENDEN, and JAMES E. HEATH, Esqr's.; a majority of whom shall have authority to award the premium. We shall, of course, re- | achievements. The very seasons we enjoy, are serve the privilege of publishing in the Messenger, any or full of phenomena, which differ essentially from all of the rejected poems, with or without the names of the those, which have been so often described by the authors, as they shall think proper to direct.]-Ed. Sou. Lat. Mess. To the Editor of the Sou. Lit. Messenger: SIR,-You will require no professions from me, I am perfectly satisfied, of my regard for yourself, or of my interest in the fate of your Messenger. But how could I better show my friendship, than in telling you a truth, which, though a little bitter in itself, is well calculated to draw your attention to one of the defects of the Messenger, and to contribute to its improvement? In my humble judgment, Sir, the Poetry of the Messenger is very inferior to its Prose. Cannot you raise its standard, and improve its character? I cannot doubt, that a man, whose untiring perseverance and happy appliances have succeeded in getting up, and what is more difficult still, in keeping up, a powerful Periodical, like the Messenger, is able to accomplish this essential object. Poor as I am in means, and destitute as I am in the qualifications of a Poet, I am confident that I could attain it in a great degree. And if you have the power, you ought to exert it. It is all that the Messenger wants to make it a capital Literary Production. Stretch forth, then, the Magician's wand, and wake up the Ariels and Fairies of our native land. bards of the ancient world. I know, that our continent is comparatively young in its Anglo-Saxon population. I know too, that the conveniences must precede most of the elegances of life-that the wants of a young society must first be supplied, before the finest arts are generally cultivated-and that the finest Poetry is among the highest luxuries of society. But are we not rapidly ripening in the progress of elegance, and even luxury itself? Is not our Atlantic seaboard strewn already with populous and splendid cities? Does not the West also abound with large and beautiful towns? Have we not already produced authors, who would reflect honor upon the oldest nations of Europe? May we not boast of an Irving in elegant prose, and of a Bryant in captivating verse?-And must I remind you, that the immortal Homer appeared in the earliest days of Greece--and unless Macpherson be all a cheat, was not Ossian rocked in the very cradle of his country's existence -All that we have to do in our own dear country, is to turn the mind of our people in this direction-and not our whole mind, nor a large portion of our time. All that we have to ask is, that the impulse be given; and the leisure moments of our gifted sons be directed to short excursions in the land of Poesie. Rouse up Wake up Bestir yourself, then, friend White. yourself, and then rouse up others. even the unknown Poets of our glorious country-who may not themselves suspect the existence of the generous spark, which lies latent within their own bosoms. Where is our friend St. Leger L. Carter, whose harp ought never to sleep? Advise with your friends, upon the best mode of awakening the slumbering genius of our country's Muse. And the very first theme, on which you should stir up some gifted Poet to write, should be the present state of our Poetry, and the necessity of improving it. Let this poetic strain be addressed to all the known or unknown Bards of Virginia, and of the South. The lyre, struck on this subject by a master's hand, might call up many a spirit from "the vasty deep." Tell me not, Sir, that they are nowhere to be found. Tell me not, that there is no Muse among us to wake the harmonious Lyre. Where ought the spirit of Poetry to flourish more freely than in our own country? Where ought the soaring mind, and the motives to excite it, and the themes to employ it, where, in fact, may all the elements of poetic inspiration, exist in equal profusion? The very genius of our Republic inspires us with bold and generous thoughts. Liberty is the fast friend, if not the legitimate parent, of lofty Poetry. Where man feels his own value-and his bosom swells with conscious pride, and his mind teems and dilates with high and noble conceptions, there ought to be Muses enough at hand to transcribe the glowing thought to the swelling verse. The local genius of our country too contributes to the expansion of Among other means, why cannot you offer a the imagination, and furnishes the highest themes small, honorary prize-not burthensome to your of itself, for poetic description. Here, the exter- own purse, but complimentary to the writer-for nal universe harmonizes with the inward man. In the best poem which may be sent to you by a certhis great country, Nature herself is every where tain time? Its merits might be submitted to a select on a grand scale (as Lord Morpeth observed)—our committee of gentlemen in Richmond, whose names mountains are magnificent, our rivers roll in mighty should be advertised as the best securities for their volumes; and every landscape is rich enough to taste and their impartiality? You might stipulate, at breathe inspiration. Nor are the sources of asso- the same time, that you should have the privilege of ciation wanting to us. Our fields were once trod using all the "Rejected Addresses," to embellish by the strange men of the Indian race. The memory the future pages of the Messenger!--At all events, of Smith and the genius of Raleigh are stamped do something.--Do all you can. And your petiupon our history—and many a field is consecrated tioner, as in duty bound, will forever pray. by the recollection of high and daring military Yours, truly, R. TO THE DAUGHTER OF A FRIEND. I will not praise thy many virtues, Mary, Nor all that sparkles in thy fair young face,-- Like her to sail life's calm or ruffled sea, Unchanged, still lingers, though the world assail,— IBLIO THEC world into confusion by exciting alarms of which they were themselves the victims." We shall see, however, that these opinions are advanced hastily and without reflection, when, a few pages further, we find that, "Although the establish ment of the Jesuits was vigorously resisted in France, Spain and Flanders, so great were the perseverance of Ignatius, and the influence of the Popes, that in about 20 years after its foundation, the order counted twelve provinces, more than a hundred colleges and a still larger number of preceptories and religious houses subject to its rule❞— and again, "The activity of the Jesuits was thus extended from the Alps to the Andes, from the snows of Scandinavia to the spicy groves of Ceylon; it was animated and directed by one central spirit, whose vivacity and intensity was perhaps most keenly felt at the remotest extremities." Now, such an epithet as Blunderer cannot reasonably be applied to Loyola, Xavier or La Sale. There is a mauvais plaisanterie in the style too, which is not agreeable in Biography, and a continual play upon words in which the taste is bad and the wit worse: e. g. the Biography is termed Romantic, because "Rome, in the age succeeding the Reformation, was not only "antic herself, but the cause of ELEMENTS OF CHEMISTRY, including the most recent dis. most of the antics played in Europe." The Wars of Fercoveries and applications of the science to medicine and dinand and Isabella are called "Sporting on the Moors," During his conpharmacy, and to the arts. By Robert Kane, M. D., M. (that's rather good,) but the next is awful. R. I. A., Professor of Natural Philosophy to the Royal finement, Loyola amused himself by reading or listening to Dublin Society; Professor of Chemistry to the Apothe-the Lives of the Saints. His biographers are not agreed caries' Hall of Ireland; Member of the Society of Phar- as to whether he could read at this period; it is probable, macy of Paris, and of the German Pharmaceutical So- however, that he could spell, and that the tediousness of ciety, etc. etc. etc. An American edition, with additions this operation enabled the subjects of his study to cast a and corrections, and arranged for the use of the univer- spell over him." However, we don't wish to abuse the sities, colleges, academies, and medical schools of the book, for we found it very interesting and agreeable. Much United States, by John William Draper, M. D., Profes-is told that we cannot find in the published histories of sor of Chemistry in the University of New-York, formerly Professor of Physical Science and Physiology in Hampden Sydney College, Virginia; Member of the Lyceum of Natural History of New-York, etc. etc. etc. New-York: published by Harper & Brothers, No. 82, Cliff Street; 1842. Notices of New Works. Dr. Kane is a man of science, and his work is held in high repute on the other side of the water. It is one of the best text-books, on the science of which it treats, that our catalogues afford;-the American editor and publshers deserve high commendations for the introduction among our elementary works, of so valuable a book. It treats of chemistry, and of its practical and useful application to the purposes of life. As a text-book, it is one of the best to be found in any language; and as such, we take great pleasure in recommending it to the attention of teachers and students. It is for sale at the bookstore of Messrs. Smith, Drinker & Morris. the period, and in a manner fascinating to the mind of youth, attracting it to the attainment of a knowledge at once ornamental and useful. The work is neatly got up, and reflects credit upon the publishers. REMAINS OF REV. JOSHUA WELLS DOWNING, A. M., late The Rev. Joshua W. Downing was a young divine of This is a new monthly, just started up. Its object is the advancement of the moral and intellectual culture of the youth of our wide-spread land. It is particularly designed to assist in the formation of character, the acquisition of knowledge, and the right disciplining of the mind. It is under the superintendance of Mr. Lockwood-and so far gives promise of a career of usefulness. We wish it success. Price $1 per annum. ROMANTIC BIOGRAPHY OF THE AGE OF ELIZABETH, or SKETCHES OF LIFE FROM THE BY-WAYS OF HISTORY. By the Benedictine Brethren of Glendalough. Two volumes: 12 mo.-Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard. This is an interesting book, edited by William Cook Taylor, author of the Natural History of Society, &c., containing spirited sketches of the lives and character of Dudley Earl of Leicester, La Mothe Fenelon, Ignatius Loyola, Calvin, Pope Sixtus 5th, and others, in which the author proposes to "get rid of Idealities, and in his historical views to substitute Daguerrotypes for Fancy Portraits." We are unable to say how far he has succeeded; but certainly, if his views be correct, we must admit that our ideas concerning some of these persons have been fan- This valuable work has been placed upon our table. It ciful indeed. We were not a little startled to hear Sir comprises 332 pages 12mo. of the most important informaWalter Raleigh spoken of as "an unprincipled adventu- tion, concerning the General and State Governments, torer, whom it is the fashion to treat as a hero ;" and the gether with much other useful matter. It can be had at the Jesuits designated as "Blunderers who have thrown the bookstore of J. W. Randolph. THE AMERICAN ALMANAC AND REPOSITORY OF USEFUL |