'follow, that they can drive to no certain point, but ramble from one fubject to another, and conclude with fomewhat which is not of a piece with their beginning:

"Pupureus latè qui fplendeat unus & alter
"Affuitur pannus,"

as Horace fays though the verfes are golden, they are but patched into the garment. But our Poet has always the goal in his eye, which directs him in his races some beautiful defign, which he first establishes, and then contrives the means which will naturally conduct him to his end. This will be evident to judicious readers in his Epiftles, of which fomewhat, at least in general, will be expected.

The title of them in our late editions is Epiftolæ Heroidum, The letters of the Heroines. But Heinfius has judged more truly, that the infcription of qur author was barely, Epiftles; which he concludes from his cited verfes, where Ovid afferts this work as his own invention, and not borrowed from the Greeks, whom (as the masters of their learning) the Romans ufually did imitate. But it appears not from their writings, that any of the Grecians ever touched upon this way, which our Poet therefore justly has vindicated to himfelf. I quarrel not at the word Heroidum, because it is ufed by Ovid in his Art of Love:

"Jupiter ad veteres fupplex Heroidas ibát.

But, fure, he could not be guilty of fuch an overfight, to call his work by the name of Heroines, when there are divers men, or heroes, as, namely, Paris, Leander,

and Acontius, joined in it. Except Sabinus, who writ fome answers to Ovid's Letters,

"(Quam celer è toto rediit meus orbe Sabinus)"

I remember not any of the Romans, who have treated on this subject; save only Propertius, and that but once, in his Epistle of Arethufa to Lycotas, which is written fo near the style of Ovid, that it feems to be but an imitation; and therefore ought not to defraud our Poet of the glory of his invention.

Concerning the Epiftles, I fhall content myself to obferve these few particulars; first, that they are generally granted to be the most perfect pieces of Ovid, and that the ftyle of them is tenderly paffionate and courtly; two properties well agreeing with the perfons, which were heroines and lovers. Yet, where the chara&ers were lower, as in OEenone and Hero, he has kept clofe to nature, in drawing his images after a country life; though perhaps he has Romanized his Grecian dames too much, and made them fpeak, fometimes, as if they had been born in the city of Rome, and under the empire of Auguftus. There seems to be no great variety in the particular fubjects which he has chofen; most of the Epiftles being written from ladies who were forfaken by their lovers which is the reafon that many of the fame thoughts come back upon us in divers letters: but of the general character of women, which is modesty, he has taken a moft becoming care; for his amorous expreffions go no further than virtue may allow, and therefore may be read, as he intended them, by matrons without a blush.

Thus

Thus much concerning the Poet: it remains that I should say somewhat of poetical translations in general, and give my opinion (with fubmiffion to better judgments) which way of verfion feems to be the most proper.

All translation, I fuppofe, may be reduced to thefe three heads.

First, that of Metaphrafe, or turning an author word by word, and line by line, from one language into another. Thus, or near this manner, was Horace's Art of Poetry tranflated by Ben Jonfon. The fecond way is that of Paraphrafe, or translation with latitude, where the author is kept in view by the tranflator, fo as never to be loft, but his words are not fo ftrictly followed as his fenfe; and that too is admitted to be amplified, but not altered. Such is Mr. Waller's tranflation of Virgil's Fourth Æneid. The third way is that of imitation, where the translator (if now he has not loft that name) affumes the liberty, not only to vary from the words and sense, but to forsake them both as he fees occasion; and, taking only fome general hints from the original, to run divifion on the ground-work, as he pleafes. Such is Mr. Cowley's practice in turning two Odes of Pindar, and one of Horace, into English.

Concerning the first of these methods, our mafter Horace has given us this caution:

"Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere fidus
"Interpres"-

Nor word for word too faithfully translate,

as

:

as the Earl of Roscommon has excellently rendered it. Too faithfully is, indeed, pedantically it is a faith like that which proceeds from fuperftition, blind and zealous. Take it in the expreffion of Sir John Denham to Sir Richard Fanfhaw, on his verfion of the Paftor Fido:

That fervile path thou nobly doft decline,

Of tracing word by word, and line by line.
A new and nobler way thou dost pursue,
To make tranflations and tranflators too:
They but preserve the ashes, thou the flame,
True to his fenfe, but truer to his fame.

It is almost impoffible to tranflate verbally, and well, at the fame time: for the Latin (a most severe and compendious language) often expreffes that in one word, which the barbarity, or the narrowness, of modern tongues cannot fupply in more. It is frequent alfo that the conceit is couched in fome expreffion, which will be Joft in English.

Atque iidem venti vela fidemque ferent."

What Poet of our nation is fo happy as to express this thought literally in English, and to ftrike wit, or almoft fenfe, out of it?

In short, the verbal copier is incumbered with fo many difficulties at once, that he can never difintangle chimself from all. He is to confider, at the fame time, the thought of his author and his words, and to find out the counterpart to each in another language: and, befides this, he is to confine himself to the com

pafs

pass of numbers, and the flavery of rhyme. It is much like dancing on ropes with fettered legs: a man can fhun a fall, by using caution; but the gracefulness of motion is not to be expected: and when we have faid the best of it, it is but a foolish tafk; for no fober man would put himself into a danger for the applause of efcaping without breaking his neck. We fee Ben Jonfon could not avoid obfcurity in his literal translation of Horace, attempted in the fame compass of lines: nay Horace himself could scarce have done it to a Greek Poet:

"Brevis effe laboro, obfcurus fio :"

either perfpicuity or gracefulness will frequently be wanting. Horace has, indeed, avoided both these rocką in his tranflation of the three firft lines of Homer's Odyffey, which he has contracted into two,

❝ Dic mihi, Musa, virum, captæ poft tempora Troja, 66 Qui mores hominum multorum vidit & urbes." Muse, speak the man, who, fince the fiege of Troy, So many towns, such change of manners saw.

ROSCOMMON.

But then the fufferings of Ulyffes, which are a confiderable part of that sentence, are omitted:

[ Ὃς μάλα πολλὰ πλάγχθη.

The confideration of thefe difficulties, in a fervile, literal, tranflation, not long fince made two of our famous wits, Sir John Denham and Mr Cowley, to contrive another way of turning authors into our tongue, called, by the latter of them, Imitation. As they were

friends,