and, in fhort, of mental activity; for, as this author observes, "the fubjects, the texture, the manners, the images, the lef fons taught, all confpire to fhew that they are of native origin; and the naivetè, fineffe, and fpirit with which they are told, ftill more forcibly prove them to be the fpontaneous pro duction of the foil." Some imperfect strictures on the Indian language, which are contained in the latter part of the paper, are not fufceptible of a perfpicuous abridgement. III. Some Confiderations on the Hiftory of ancient amatory Writers, and the comparative Merits of the three great Román Elegiac Poets, Ovid, Tibullus, and Propertius. By William Prefton, Efq. The principal object of this paper is to prove, that compofitions on the fubject of love, are not the productions of rude times, or of the early ages of fociety; but that, in every country, they begin to make their appearance when an establifhed form of government, a flourishing commerce, wealth, fplendor, and fecurity, give a degree of foftness to the manners of the inhabitants, and introduce the gratification of luxury with fenfual indulgence. In fact, this author obferves, very little indeed on the fubject of love, is to be met with amongst the early writers, fuch as Homer, Hefiod, the author of the Argonautics, and the three Greek tragedy writers. Alcman, or Alcmæon, who appears to have been the first writer on love, was a native of Sardis, in Lydia, and flourished at a time when that city had attained an high degree of fplendor, and confiderable wealth, which flowed from a flourifhing commerce. The fame obfervation may be applied to Alcæus, the illuftrious poet of Lefbos, and likewife to Mimnermus, of Smyrna, or Colophon, and to various others. After the proofs, which this learned author adduces in fupport of the above-mentioned propofition, he obferves that the late Sir William Jones, in his Commentaries on Afiatic Poetry, feems to confider amatory poetry as being one of the first productions of the human intellect; the offspring and delight of every ftage of fociety from the rudeft to the most polilhed. But Mr. P. then proceeds to fhow that Sir Wm. Jones was too hafty in making his conclufions, which are not fupported even by the quotations and inftances, which he himfelf adduces. In fhort he does not seem to make a proper difcrimination between the ftrains of the voluptuary, or fenfualift, and the poetry of love. With refpect to the three Roman amatory writers, Mr. P. expreffes himfelf in the fol-lowing manner : "The "The Roman language, however, and the elegant, the luxurious and gallant court of Auguftus were deftined to exhibit amatory poetry, in its full perfection, in the perfons of the three great poets, Ovid, Tibullus, and Propertius. Thefe celebrated and juftly admirable cotemporaries, though they treat on a common fubject, fhow much originality of genius and manner, and differ, in a fingu lar and ftriking degree, from each other; while the critical reader ftands fufpended, and is doubtful, on which he fhall beftow the preference, and at laft beftows it, rather according to his peculiar tafte and fancy, than from a decided conviction of the real fuperiority of the writer, whom he thus prefers. "Ovid, Tibullus and Propertius have this in common, that they did not merely produce light and occafional amorous effufions, the offspring of careleffnefs, chance and leifure. They seem, to have given their whole fouls and affections to the purfuits of love; to have made that paffion the grand object of their lives; the great and favourite fubject of their mufe. This admirable triumvirate appeared, in fact, to have looked on their amatory compofitions, with the confcious pride of genius; and to have confidered them as the fureft foundations of their pretenfions to poctical repu tation, In forming this judgment of their own pretenfions and talents, they were perfectly well founded; for, in their productions confecrated to love, they fhew an energy and talent, a care, a study, a correctness of compofition, and a knowledge of the human heart, a feeling of all the doubts and uncertainties, the pains and pleafures, the hopes and fears of the delightful but tormenting paffion, which they celebrate, fuch as fcarcely ever has been equalled in any language, and certainly never has been furpaffed. "Ovid furpaffes his rivals and contemporaries, in fancy, gaiety, ingenuity, and wit; -Tibullus, in nature, pathos, real tenderness, fweetnefs, eafe and unaffected fimplicity; Propertius, excels, in sublimity, loftinefs of manner, dignity and refinement of fentiment, purity of paffion, and learning, in which laft refpect, he sometimes however, runs riot, and may juftly incur the cenfure of pedantry." P. 1 151, This author then proceeds to examine their peculiar merits more in detail; to which he subjoins fome obfervations on a few other poets, ANTIQUITIES, I. An Infcription on an ancient Sepulchral-Stone, or Monument, in the Church-yard of Killcummin, near Killalla, in the County of Mayo; with fome Remarks on the fame. By the Rev. James Little. In this fhort paper, to which a delineation of the fepulchralftone is annexed, Mr, L. endeavours to interpret the diftorted characters characters that are engraven on the flone, which, as he thinks, denote the burial-place of fome perfon of diftinction, the initials of whofe name are R. T. and who died on the first of May, in the year 1102 of the present era. ART. 11. BRITISH CATALOGUE. POETRY. The Sabbath, and Sabbath Walks. By James Grahame. The third Edition. 12mo. 136 pp. Blackwood, Edin. burgh. Cadell and Davies, London. 1805. No longer ago than in October laft (vol. xxiv. p. 436,) did we notice the firft edition of the Sabbath, then anonymous, and already has it attained a third edition, and the name of the author is affixed. We heartily hope that thefe effects were produced in fome important degree by our unbiaffed praifes. The poem, fpirited and harmonious at firft, is much augmented and improved; fome imperfect lines which we remarked are removed, and the book is prefented to the reader with all the elegance of the prefs of Ballantyne. In the beautiful defcription of the organ one imperfect line is filled up, but one ftill remains for which we cannot account. We feel ourselves constrained by the tranfcendent beauty of the paffage to give it entire; but the line of which we fpeak is the last but one. Whatever may have occafioned this little blemish, it is amply compenfated by the new introduction, fo proper from a Scottish poet. Nor would I leave unfung The stated portion reads. A paufe enfues. The people rifing fing, with harp, with harp, Recal Recal the foul from adoration's trance, Wafting glad tidings to the fick man's couch. P. 17. The Sabbath Walks, which were added in the fecond edition, are no lefs poetical than the principal poem, and unite the infpiration of the mufe with that of piety. But a fingular queftion now arifes: whether the author had ever feen the pom next to be announced, which, though now first published, (we believe) muft have been written many years If he had, he muft yield fomething of the palm of originality, though we cannot pretend to fay that we fee direct marks of imi. tation. The refemblances which exift appear to us to arife fimply from the unavoidable coincidences of thought on the fame fub. ject, while the differences are beyond number. ART. 12. The Rural Sabbath, a Poem, in four Books, and other Poems. By William Cockin. 12mo. 183 pp. G. and W. Nicol. 1805. We have here no young or anxious candidate for fame. The poet, whofe productions are here given, paid the debt of nature in the year 1801, at the age of 65; and where the principal of thefe poems was found, or by whom it is now brought forward, we are not at all informed. Mr. W. Cockin was a native of Cumberland, a friend of Romney, the painter, and paffed the greater part of his life in the unambitious occupation of a teacher of writing and arithmetic. A lift of his works is given, in a short fketch of his life here prefixed, but we find not one of them noticed by the Review which we have confulted, except one which was in the way of his occupation, a treatise on Rational and Practical Arithmetic, published in 1766. Mr. Cockin was nevertheless a poet of great merit, and has very happily fucceeded in writing on the hallowed fubject of "the Sabbath," which has just given celebrity alfo to a more recent bard. The follow. ing paffage, on the ftillnefs of the Sabbath morn, is much refem. bled by the opening of Mr. Grahame's poem, and indeed much *Part in 1792. See page 61 of that poem. + The funeral of a beautiful young woman is defcribed in each poem with great effect. In this, at p. 24; in Mr. Cockin's, at p. 92. Here the two poets have a strong conteft. Perhaps we fhould give it to Mr. G, though both are fine. exceeded exceeded by it; but the competition is not always fo unequal, and even the inferior lines are good. A ftillnefs reigns Of folemn form, far o'er the lengthen'd vale. Which fanctifies the wonted day of reft, How still the morning of the hallow'd day! We neither have, nor can have, many things in our language finer than this exordium, and it is particularly happy as an exordium. The "trickling of the dew" is, indeed, an hyperbole ; but that may pafs among fo many beauties, which are continued alfo for many fubfequent lines, before the fubject changes. Mr. Grahame is perfectly unknown to us, but his poetry we always wish to know. Mr. Cockin, however, was alfo a poet. Witnefs thefe lines: The ceremony o'er, [a marriage] in part to greet Of light and well-toned bells awakes the mind Are aptly fashion'd. Mixing with their chime It is curious enough that of these two Sabbath poets, the one is of the Scottish, the other of the English Church; and a beautiful apoftrophe to the latter occurs here at p. 53. Mr. Cockin's Sabbath is in four books, and he is more diffuse on many |