Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

inftead of Nexpor-Yet who would venture to produce fuch a Verfe, as a defence of Milton's ufage of δυσμίμημα, fecunda brevi ?

In the next place, this word Aveμinμa does not occur, I believe, in any ancient writer; and if it did, it could not poffibly be used in the fignification, in which it has been employed by Milton.

The Adjective Δυσμιμητος is thus explained by Henry Stephens: "Vir imitabilis, quem imitari et exprimere difficulter queas." He does not, however, produce any authority for the ufage of it, nor has Scott in his Supplement remedied the deficiency. It may not, therefore, be improper to add, that Plutarch uses the word in his Cato Minor: τα καλον, ὧν επετηδευεν, το δυσμιμητον. Vol. IV. p. 374, in Demetrius : Δυσμίμητος ηρωϊκη τις επιφάνεια. V. p. 5. and in other paffages. These, however, will be fufficient to point out the true meaning of Δυσμίμητος; and, at the same time, they may ferve to demonftrate the impropriety of introducing a compound, into Greek poetry, with a fignification fo contrary to analogy as Avoμiunμa. DR. C. BURNEY.

f

PSALM CXIV.*

Σραὴλ ὅτε παιδὲς, ὅτ' ἀγλαὰ φύλ ̓ Ἰακώβε Αἰγύπλιον λίπε δῆμον, ἀπεχθέα, βαρβαρόφωνον, Δὴ τότε μένον ἔην ὅσιον γένος υιες Ιδα

66

* Whoever will carefully compare this Pfalm with Duport's verfion, will find this of Milton far fuperiour; for in Duport's verfion are many folecifms. Quod infortunium," fays Dawes very candidly," in cæteros itidem quofque, qui à fæculis recentioribus Græcè fcribere tentârunt, cadere dicendum eft." Mifcellan. Crit. p. 1. Jos. WARTON,

Milton fent this tranflation to his friend Alexander Gill, in return for an elegant copy of hendecafyllables. "Mitto itaque quod non planè meum eft, fed et vatis etiam illius verè divini, cujus hanc oden alterâ ætatis feptimanâ, nullo certo animi propofito, fed fubito nefcio quo impetu, ante lucis exortum, ad Græci carminis heroici legem, in lectulo ferè concinnabam." He adds, "It is the firft and only thing I have ever written in Greek, fince I left your school; for, as you know, I am now fond of compofing in Latin or English. They in the prefent age who write in Greek are finging to the deaf. Farewell, and on Tuefday next expect me in London among the bookfellers." Epift. Fam. Dec. 4, 1634. Profe-Works, vol. ii. 567. He was now therefore twenty-eight years old. In the Poftfcript to Bucer on Divorce, he thus expreffes his averfion to tranflation. "Me, who never could delight in long citations, much less in whole traductions; whether it be natural difpofition or education in me, or that my mother bore me a speaker of what God made mine own, and not a tranflator." Profe-works, vol. i. 293. It was once propofed to Milton to tranflate Homer. T. WARTON.

Ver. 2. βαρβαρόφωνον,] As in the original, A people Speaking barbarously. So, in our elder tranflation of this Pfalm, "a people of ftrange language." And Duport, in his verfion, “ ἀπ ̓ ἀνδρῶν ΒΑΡΒΑΡΟΦΩΝΩΝ.” Homer thus demominates

Εν

Ἐν δὲ Θεὸς λαοῖσι μέγα κρείων βασίλευεν.
Εἶδε, καὶ ἐντροπάδην φύγαδ ̓ ἐῤῥώησε θάλασσα
Κύματι εἰλυμένη ῥοθίῳ, ὁδ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἐςυφελίχθη
Ιρὸς Ἰορδάνης ποτὶ ἀργυροειδέα πηγήν.
Ἐκ δ' ὄρεα σκαρθμοῖσιν ἀπειρέσια κλονέοντο,
Ως κριοὶ σφριγόωντες ευτραφερῷ ἐν ἀλων.
Βαιότεραι δ ̓ ἅμα πάσαι ανασκίρτησαν ἐρίπναι,
Οἷα παραὶ σύριγξι φίλη ὑπὸ μητέρι ἄρνες,
Τίπλε σύγ', αἰνὰ θάλασσα, πέλωρ φύγαδ ̓ ἐῤῥώησας
Κύματι εἰλυμένη ῥοθίῳ ; τί δ ̓ ἂς ἐςυφελίχθης
Ιρὸς Ἰορδάνη ποτὶ ἀργυροειδέα πηγήν ;
Τίπ], ὄρεα, σκαρθμοῖσιν ἀπειρέσια κλονέεσθε,
Ως κριοὶ σφριγόωντης ευτραφερῷ ἐν ἀλωῇ ;
Βαιοτέραι, τὶ δ ̓ ἀρ' ὑμμὲς ἀνασκιρτήσατ', ἐρίπναι,
Οτα παραὶ σύριγξι φίλη ὑπὸ μητέρι ἄρνες;
Σείεο, γαῖα, τρέεσα Θεὶν μεγάλ ̓ ἐκτυπέοντα,
Γαῖα, Θεὸν τρείεσ ̓ ὕπατον σέβας Ἰσσακίδαο,
Ὁς τε καὶ ἐκ σπιλάδων ποταμὲς χέε μορμύροντας,
Κρήνηντ ̓ ἀεναὸν πέτρης ἀπὸ δακρυοέσσης.

10

15

20

the Carians, Il. ii. 867. Καρῶν ΒΑΡΒΑΡΟΦΩΝΩΝ. See alfo Apollinarius's tranflation of this Pfalm :

*Αλκιμος Ισραήλος ὅτ' ἔλυθεν ἠερίηθεν,

Δῶμα δὲ ΒΑΡΒΑΡΟΦΩΝΟΝ Ιακώβε λίπε λαός. TopD.

Philofophus ad regem quendam, qui eum ignotum et infontem inter reos fortè captum infcius damnaverat, τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ πορευόμενο, hæc fubito mifit.

Ὦ ἄνα, εἰ ὀλέσης με τὸν ἔννομον, ἐδέ τιν ἀνδρῶν Δεινὸν ὅλως δράσαντα, σοφώτατον ἴσθι κάρηνον Ῥηϊδίως αφέλοιο, τὸ δ ̓ ὕφερον αὖθι νοήσεις, Μαψιδίως δ' αρ' ρ ̓ ἔπειτα τεὸν πρὸς θυμὸν ὀδυρὴ, Τοιὸν δ ̓ ἐκ πόλιος περιώνυμον ἄλκαρ ὀλέσσας.

Ver. 4. ΜΑΨΙΔΙΩΣ δ ̓ ἀρ ἔπειτα ΤΕΟΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΘΥΜΟΝ ὀδυρὴ,
Τοιὸν δ ̓ ἐκ ΠΟΛΙΟΣ] In the edition of 1645, thus.

ΜΑΨ ΑΥΤΩΣ δ ̓ ἄρ ̓ ἔπειτα ΧΡΟΝΩ ΜΑΛΑ ΠΟΛΛΟΝ ὀδύρη,
Τοιόνδ ̓ ἐκ ΠΟΛΕΩΣ.

5

The paffage was altered, as it ftands at prefent, in the edition of 1673. Τ. WARTON.

In the following verfes in the Iliad, ΠΟΛΕΩΣ occurs both in the text of Barnes, and Clarke, Il. ii. 811, xi. 168, xx. 52, xxi. 563, 567, 608. In all thefe places, except the fecond, ΠΟΛΙΟΣ is noted as a various reading. This is mentioned in confequence of the remark made by the learned annotator on the Greek verfes in p. 293, 294, whofe affertion I conclude to be founded on the defect of Seber's Index Homericus, in which there are only two direct references to Πόλεως, TODD.

In Effigiei Ejus Sculptorem.

Αμαθεϊ γεγράφθαι χειρὶ τήνδε μὲν εἰκόνα Φαίης τάχ ̓ ἂν, πρὸς εἶδος αὐτοφυὲς βλέπων. Τὸν δ ̓ ἐκτυπωτὸν ἐκ ἐπιγνόντες, φίλοι, Γελᾶτε φαύλε δυσμίμημα ζωγράφο. *

Ver. 2. εἶδος αὐτοφυὶς] See αυτοφυές κάλλος, nativa, naturalis, genuina pulchritudo, in Hen. Stephens's Thefaur. Gr. Ling. Tom. iv. col. 284. TODD.

* This infcription, a fatire on the engraver, but happily concealed in an unknown tongue, is placed at the bottom of Milton's print, prefixed to Mofeley's edition of Milton's poems, 1645. The print is an oval: at the angles of the page are the Mufes Melpomene, Erato, Urania, and Clio; and in a back-ground a landschape with Shepherds, evidently in allufion to Lycidas and L'Allegro. Confcious of the comelinefs of his perfon, from which he afterwards delineated Adam, Milton could not help expreffing his refentment at so palpable a diffimilitude. Salmafius, in his Defenfio Regia, calls it comptulam imaginem, and declares that it gave him no difadvantageous idea of the figure of his antagonist. But Alexander More having laughed at this print, Milton replies in his Defenfio pro fe, "Tu effigiem mei diffimillimam, prefixam poematibus, vidifti. Ego verò, fi impulfu et ambitione librarii me imperito scalptori, proptereà quòd in urbe alius eo belli tempore non erat, infabre fcalpendum permifi, id me neglexiffe potius. eam rem arguebat, cujus tu mihi nimium cultum objicis." Profe-Works, vol. ii. 367. Round it is infcribed JOHANNIS MILTONI ANGLI EFFIGIES ANNO ÆTATIS VIGESSIMO PRIMO. There was therefore fome drawing or painting of Milton in 1629, from which this engraving was made in 1645, eo belli tempore, when the civil war was now begun. The engraver is William Marshall; who, from the year 1634, was often employed by Mofeley, Milton's bookseller, to engrave heads for books of poetry. One of these heads was of Shakspeare to his Poems in

« AnteriorContinuar »