an assylum to the unfortunate fair, in which they might take refuge from the tongue of slander, and bid adieu to the world and its cares, are either demolished, or become the scenes of infamy. None will now receive the once honorable veil but those, who are soured by disappointment, and who are willing to persist in a life of celibacy no longer, than an opportunity offers of changing "better for worse." Having thus taken a cursory view of those deities, whose worship has engrossed both the ancient and modern world, we will now turn our attention to one of more recent date. This is Fashion. Her origin was long the subject of strict scrutiny among modern mythologists. Some have supposed her the offspring of Plutus, while others have endeavored to trace her descent by ransacking the rusty volume of Hesiod; but all to no purpose, for it has been since proved, that her divinity consists in nothing more, than an inanimate goose, fabricated by some modern Cyclops. Although of the meanest origin, yet her celebrity is so great, that her votaries may be found in all the grades of society from the peasant to the king. Versatility in appearance is their distinguishing characteristic. This is often carried so far by the fairest half of creation, that within the rise and fall of a weather glass we have witnessed as strange metamorphoses, as any, related by Ovid. Sometimes they have increased in height and magnitude, far surpassing the original; but, by some sudden caprice of fashion, they have now divested themselves of almost every incumbrance, and are fast approaching towards the simplicity of Eve. In sacrificing at the shrine of Fashion nothing is too dear to be withheld. The Fashionalia, or festivals of fashion, like the Palilia, are celebrated during the night; and, although they often endanger both life and health, yet such is the veneration for this favorite idol, that the suffering fair one will seldom attribute the cause of her malady to its true source. The influence of fashion over the minds and actions of mankind at large is truly extensive. The sense of mod * Balls. esty is far from being stationary, but varies with the fluctu ating laws of fashion. The style of modern writers, in conformity with the prevailing modes of dress, has already become loose and impure; and the chastest eye now dwells with delight upon objects, which some few years since would have" o'erstepp'd the modesty of nature." Thus do we see, that, while the moderns are raising the accusation of idolatry against the ancients, they also bear the mark of the beast in their foreheads; and, although they de ny it with their lips, they proclaim it aloud by their actions. While we censure the depravity of the ancient Israelites in turning aside after false gods, we too bow the knee to Baal, and offer sacrifices to Moloch. Like them we possess the advantages of a revealed religion, but content ourselves with disobeying its precepts. Y. C. ON A RECOVERED FRAGMENT OF LIVÝ. THE republic of letters never sustained a greater loss in any single author, than by the destruction of the latter and more interesting part of Livy. Several eminent moderns have indulged the pleasing expectation, that the entire work of this noble historian might yet be recovered. It has been said to exist in an Arabic version, and even a complete copy of the original is supposed to have been extant as late, as the year 1631, and to have perished at that time in the plunder of Magdeburg. That munificent patron of literature, LEO X, exerted the most generous zeal to rescue from oblivion the valuable treasure, which one of his bigotted predecessors had expelled from every christian library.* Bayle Pope GREGORY the great would not suffer Livy in any christian library, because of the pagan superstition, with which the history abounded. But the same reason held good against all ancient authors; and indeed Gregory's zeal was far from being levelled at Livy in particular, for he declared war against all human learning. has preserved under the article, Leo, two curious original letters of that Pontiff, concerning his hopes of recovering Livy, which afford the most honorable proofs of his liberality in the cause of letters. Of 140 books of Livy only 45 remain in a perfect state; and therefore the discovery of any, even the smallest part of so invaluable a treasure will without doubt be welcome to the learned. Mr. PAUL JAMES BRUNS being at Rome in the year 1772, for the purpose of inspecting manuscripts in the Vatican Library at the request of Dr. KENNICOTT, in the progress of his elaborate collations for the Hebrew Bible, he afterwards published, examined a Latin manuscript of the books of Tobit, Job, and Esther, and to his surprize found, that they were superscribed on some more ancient character. On a careful examination the manuscript was to be ranked among those, which are called rescriptos, or rather, says he, to use the Ciceronian style, palimpsestos; the last of which terms, we should observe, is particularly used to signify parchments, dressed in such a manner, that, by a little moisture, what had been written on them might be effaced, after which they were ready to receive a new inscription. However in the present case the characters were not so far destroyed, but that, with assiduity and attention, he was able in a great measure to recover them. This Latin Codex contained 176 leaves, nine of which have been more lately added, together with some others about the middle of the book, from fol. 54 to 72; but those only are worth mentioning, which were formerly parts of other authors, collected probably into the present form in the eighth century, when the old text was covered with a new one. The leaves, which contain the fragment of Livy, seem much the most ancient; and may be found on the 73d and 78th pages, which conclude the first part, and at pages 75 and 76, which conclude the last. That it belongs to the middle of the 91st book is plain from the subject; as it relates, that Sertorius made himself master of Contrebia; and the epitoVol. II. No. 3. I i -me of the grst book states the Sertorian war in Spain. Besides he observed in the front of one page LIB. XCI, and of the other TITI LIVI; but in a character so very minute, as scarcely to be legible. The form of it, as the margin had been cut, could not well be ascertained; but it appeared to have been nearly what we call a small folio. The character, in which it was written, is that, which is called uncialis ; which is generally accounted the most antique, and is found in the smallest number of manuscripts. He compared it with the most celebrated ancient writings, the Vatican Virgil and Terence and the Medicean Virgil, hitherto deemed the most ancient extant; and perceived, that it yielded to none in point of excellence and antiquity. When he was afterwards at Naples, he met with several Latin words, which had been inscribed on some of the walls of Herculaneum, which he found to resemble exactly those of the manuscript. On the whole he does not scruple to give it a first place among ancient manuscripts in the Latin language; and, lest he should be deemed rash in forming this judgment, he introduces a learned Italian, the Abbate Vito Giovenazzi, particularly sagacious in these inquiries, as joining him in the same opinion. The parchment of this fragment is very thin, and of a yellow color. There are two columns in each page, containing thirty lines; and the words have no intervening space to distinguish them from each other. This precious relick he published at Hamburg in 1773 in a small folio in 16 pages, and dedicated it to Dr. Kennicott. It is preceded by a statement of the discovery; then are given the four pages of the fragment, two columns each, in a kind of fac simile; and then a transcript in the more modern form; to which are added a few annotations and criticisms. There are some blanks, occasioned by illegible words; yet, short and incomplete, as it is, it is nevertheless an acceptable addition to the excellent history, of which it makes a part.. The following is a literal translation.* *The translation is copied from the Gentleman's Magazine for the year 1772, as are some of the preliminary remarks; but the chief are from the preface of Mr. Bruns. Argument of the fragment. Sertorius at length takes Contrebia.* His army being in winter quarters, he orders warlike instruments to be prepar ed, and, assembling the ambassadors of the nations, urges them to finish the war. In the spring he sends Perperna.to the nation of the Ilurcaones, and gives instructions to Hertu leius for renewing the campaign. He himself, after marching his army through several nations, encamps near Calagu ris Nasica ;+ gives some orders to Masius and Instelus, andy passing through the territory of the Umcones, arrives at Va reia. THE FRAGMENT. 黒チョイ Nevertheless, as he persisted, and was extremely vigilant, another turret, raised on the same spot at break of day, astonished the enemy, At the same time the turret of the town, which was its chief defence, its foundation being undermined, began to open with large chinks, and **** with fire. The Contrebians, terrified at once with the apprehension of the flames and its falling, fled trembling from the wall, and the whole multitude exclaimed, that ambassadors should be sent to surrender the city. The same valor, which had attacked the insolent, rendered the conquerer more mild. Hostages being accepted, he exacted a small sum of money, and took away all their arms. The freemen, who had deserted, he ordered to be brought to him alive, and made them kill the fugitive slaves, who were more numerous, than themselves; they accordingly dispatched them, and threw them down from the wall. Contrebia being taken with a great loss of troops in four and forty days, and L. Instelus being left there, ***he led his army to the river, Hiberus. There, fixing his winter quarters near the city, called Castra Elia, he himself remained in camp, and assembled a meeting of the allied states in the city. He had given notice throughout the province, that arms should be provided according to the abilities Now Tortosa, or New Castile. + Now Ebro. |