EPISTLE THE FIFTH. TO THE EARL OF ROSCOMMON, ON HIS EXCELLENT ESSAY ON TRANSLATED VERSE. WHETHER the fruitful Nile, or Tyrian shore, The feeds of arts and infant fcience bore, tongue 5 Made nature first, and nature's God their fong. Nor ftopt tranflation here: for conqu❜ring Rome, With Grecian spoils, brought Grecian numbers home; Enrich'd by thofe Athenian mufes more, fore. 10 "Till barbarous nations, and more barbarous times, 15 Debas'd the majesty of verse to rhimes; 20 Ver. 12. Debas'd the majefty of verfe to rhimes;] The advo cates for rhyme feem not to advert to what Servius fays, that rhyme was used in the time of the Saturnalia by the Roman populace in their rude fongs, and by the foldiers in their accla mations, and at their feafts in honour of their victorious generals. We may apply to rhyme what Seneca fays of the fubtleties of logic, "Comminuitur et debilitatur generofa indoles in iftas auguftias conjecta,” JOHN WARTON. Ver, 14. ← and tinkled in the clofe.] Dryden adopts the contemptuous defcription of rhyme from preceding authors, and thofe of no mean note. Thus in Ben Jonfon's Maík of The Fortunate Ifles, Skogan, the jefter, is reprefented as a writer "in rime, fine tinckling rime!" And Andrew Marvell, in his fpirited verfes to Milton on his Paradise Loft, thus exclaims: "Well might'st thou scorn thy readers to allure "With tinkling rhime, of thy own fenfe fecure." TODD. Ver. 19. --- Dante's polish'd page] There is a very ancient Italian poem, entitled, Afpramonte, containing an account of the war of King Guarnieri and Agolante against Rome Then Petrarch follow'd, and in him we fee, In manly sweetness all the reft furpafs'd. 25 30 In Charles his reign, and by Rofcommon's pen. and Charlemagne; which, from the circumftance of the style. being a mixture of the Tufcan with other Italian dialects, appears to be prior to Dante. There was an edition of it at Venice, 1615. It is become extremely rare, and is a great curiofity. It is mentioned by Quadrio in his Hiftory of Italian Poetry. Dr. J. WARTON. Ver. 21. Then Petrarch follow'd,] It was on the fixth of April, 1327, that Petrarch fell in love with Laura, in the twentythird year of his age. Paul Jovius reports, that it was a com mon faying in Italy, that Petrarch did not fucceed in writing profe, nor Boccacio in writing verfe. Few books are fo entertaining as the Abbé Sade's circumftantial Life of Petrarch, which contains alfo a curious picture of the manners and opinions of that age. It is pleasant to obferve, that Petrarch's Laura was allegorized to mean the Chriftian Religion by one commentator; the Soul by another; and the Virgin Mary by a third. Dr. J. WARTON. Ibid. Then Petrarch follow'd,] No reafoning from the Italian language to the English about rhyme and blank verfe. One language (fays Johnfon) cannot communicate its rules to another. JOHN WARTON. 36 Nor need those rules to give translation light: 4,0 45 'Tis well for us his generous blood did flow, Elfe muft the two contending nations fight; 50 With their own toil provoke the foldier's hand. 69 How he embellishes his Helen's loves, fand. 65 Rofcommon, whom both court and camps com mend, True to his prince, and faithful to his friend; page: 75 Our English palace opens wide in slate ; Ver. 67. Mufe, feed the bull] Jam cornu petat, et pedibus qui fpargat arenam. JOHN WARTON. Ver. 74. Whom infus'd Titan] E meliore lutu finxit præcordia Titan. Juv. JOHN WARTON." |