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His baths were used the first week of June following, they are now called the Old Bath, and the public house, which he built, is now known by the name, of the Bath Hotel. Since that period several new sets of hot and cold baths, extensive hotels, with neat and elegant houses, have been erected.

Broadgate, Coventry,

Your's, &c. 24th April, 1809. W. GOODMAN.

For the Monthly Magazine. LYCEUM OF ANCIENT LITERA TURE.-No. XXI.

IN

OF THE EARLY LYRICK POETS OF GREECE. N a former paper, we traced the origin of the Ode, the manner in which it was composed and performed among the ancients, and the effect it commonly had upon the people in the early ages. In a brief enumeration of those who led the way in this branch of poetry, we discard all speculative enquiry as to the age which gave them birth, and shall content ourselves with giving that account of them, which has hitherto been generally followed. To consider each separately and at length, would extend this division infinitely beyond the limits we have assigned to others; and the lit tle novelty which materials so scanty and so contradictory would produce, renders it the more necessary to compress the obscure scanty lyricks into one number. Linus has the honour to be reckoned the first man in poetic story; though Pausanias affirms that he either never composed any verses, or that none of his pieces ever descended to posterity. But according to Diodorus Siculust, he wrote, in the Pelasgian tongue, the Acts of the first Bacchus, and other fabulous picces. From this, it is not improbable, that there were two of this name, both celebrated for music and for poetry: and Suidas and Eusebius seem to be of this opinion. But their stories are so confounded, that it is impossible to distinguish the adventures of one from those of the other. Scaligert, indeed, acknowledges but one Linus, and reprehends Eusebius for dividing him into two. He was either of Chalcis, or of Thebes, the son of Apollo by Terpsichore; or, according to other accounts, the son of Mercury, or of Amphimarus, by Urania. If in a pedigree so doubt ful we may chuse for ourselves, Mercury

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seems to have a preferable claim to Ampharus, or Apollo; for Linus is the supposed father of lyrick poetry. He is also recorded as the instructor of Hercules in letters; but if the elder Orpheus was also his disciple, he must have been of too early an age to have been contenporary with Hercules, for Orpheus is placed eleven ages before the siege of Troy. Hercules may have been instructed by the Theban Linus, who was considerably jumor to this of Chalcis. Linus of Thebes was the son of the poet Eumolpus, and imparted to Greece the knowledge of the globes. He also, before the time of Hesiod, composed a poem in which he gives the genealogy of the deities, though it is supposed to have differed from the theogony of Hesiod. Ile appears to have paid dearly for the honour of being the preceptor of Her cules, who knocked his brains out with the harp, upon which he was awkwardly attempting to play; though others state him to have been killed by Apollo, for daring to contend with him in music and

verse.

His fate seems to have occasioned great sorrow among the ancient Grecians, and introduced the custom of bewailing his death every year on Mount Helicon; where, before the usual sacrifices were offered to the Muses, verses were usually sung in his praise. To this custom Honer alludes.

Τοῖσιν δ ̓ ἐν μέσσοσι παῖς φόρμιγι λιγείη
Ιμερόεν κιθάριξεν Λίνον δ ̓ ὑπὸ καλὸν μετε
Δεκαλέν φωνη.
IX. 18. 569.

Here a fair youth his tuneful ivory strung,
While his soft voice unhappy Linus sung.
For though Afrog is rendered chorda
in this place by most translators, yet ac-
cording to Pausanias, we are to under-
stand it of Linus the poet.
propriety of the interpretation is doubted
by Clarke.t

But the

Next follows the celebrated name of Orpheus, whose story is so remarkably interesting in Virgil; but of this name again, grammarians reckon no fewer than volved in fable, and their distinctions, of five epic poets. Their histories are incourse, uncertain and obscure. The Thracian Orpheus, who is the elder of the rame, is said to have been the disciple of Linus, and to have lived eleven ages before the Trojan war. The mys terious rites of Ceres and Bacchus are supposed to have originated with him;

Lib. IX. cap. 29.
See Note to V. 570.

but

but as these rites are evidently Egyptian, they must have been introduced only, not invented, by this Orpheos. The sccond was surnamed Ciconorus, and is said to have flourished two generations before the Trojan war; he was also an heroic poet, and wrote fables and hymns addressed to the deities. Orpheus Odrysius and Orpheus Camarinorus were epic poets; but he, who was surnamed Crotoniates, was contemporary with Pisistratus, and lived in great favour and familiarity at the Athenian court; he is said to have written the Argonauties, the hymns and the poems de Lapi dibus, which are extant. It is difficult to say, to which of these it was that the ancients ascribed such extraordinary powers. All the poets have joined in celebrating the wonderful effects of his Hyre. Ovid gives us a list of forest trees that danced to his music. Senecat gives him power over woods, rivers, rocks, wild beasts, and infernal spirits. Manilist enumerates all the supernatural properties of his lyre. And even Horace thus speaks of him:

Sylvestres homines sacer interpresque Deorum
Credibus & victu fædo deterruit Orpheus,
Dic us ab hoc lenire tigres rabidosq. leones.
Ar. Poct. v. 391.

Musæus, like his two predecessors, has reached our times with no positive testimonies, but his name and the general praise once ascribed to his verse; he is said to have been the scholar, if not the son, of Orpheus; and was, like him, esteemed as a prophet as well as a poet. Strabo, in the sixteenth book of his Geography places him among the Maus; and Pausaniass, who calls him one of the Χρησμολόγοι, says that he had seen some of his predictions. At Athens, within the old bounds of the city, was a little bill, where Musæus was said to have sung his verses, and where he was afterwards buried. It appears that it was after wards turned into a fortification, and from him, derived the name of Muserum. Pausanias) seems to think that the pieces commonly attributed to Musaus, in his time, were the works of Onomacritus, and that there were no certain remains of Museus, except his hymn to Ceres. The beautiful story of Hero and Leander

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passes under his name; a poem which Scaliger* has mentioned with the utmost extravagance of praise; he asserts, that it supplied the Iliad and Odyssey, with some of their finest ideas. But as the name of Museus so often occurs in the ancient Greek authors and their interpreters, without the slightest hint of his having written any such poem; and some manuscripts having been discovered. where the work is inscribed Merale r faupalix, it has been generally supposed that it was written, not by the old Musæus, but by some learned grammarian of the same name, who lived in all probability about the fifth centuryt. In its uncommon sweetness and beautiful simplicity, it is not unworthy of the ap cient bards. There were no less than seven poets of the name of Musæus, but it is unnecessary to enumerate them.

Tyrtæus belongs to history, rather than to fable. He was born at Miletus, but lived at Athens, where he maintained himself by his elegiac music, his pipe, and his school. He flourished about 684 years before Christ. His story is one of the finest of antiquity, and the glo pious success of his verses advanced his naine to rank among the greatest heroes, as well as the noblest poets. The story itself is too well known to be repeated here; but we observe that Scaliger1 must be mistaken in placing Tyrtus in the 36th Olymp. for, according to Pausanias, the second Messenian war, in which the poet so much contributed to render the Spartans victorious, was in the fourth year of the 23d Olymp. His works were, the "Polity of the Lacedemonians," and several elegies and odes, some fragments only of which are now

extant,

Archilochus is placed by Eusebius in the 29th Olymp. though A. Tellius ||asserts that he flourished in the reign of Tullus Hostilius, King of Rome, i. e. in the 27th Olymp. Scaliger indeed would bring him down even two hundred years lower, to the reign of Darius Hystaspis; but he seems to want authority for this chronological position. The poet was born at Paros, a small island in the Egean sea, and, by his own account, of very mean parents. He is the supposed author of Iambic verse; but, as it should

* Poetic. Lib. 5. c. 2..

+ Vid. Dan. Parerum in Mus.

1 Ad. Euseb. Num. 1383,

& Messen. p. 243.

↑ Lib. 17. c. 21.

seem

seem upon no other testimony than this of Horace,

Archilochum proprio rabies armavit Iambo. For it appears from Aristotle, that this verse was considerably more ancient than Archilochus, and that the Margites of Homer was of that description. Horace alludest to a story told of Archilochus, that having been refused the daughter of Lycambes, who, at first, had promised her in marriage to him, he pursued them with such severity of invective, as to compel both father and daughter to destroy themselves. Like Horace, he appears to have been deficient in personal couraget, though one of his pieces contains the following boast:

Ειμὶ δ ̓ ἐγὼ θεράπων μεν Ενυαλίοιο ανακλα Καὶ μεσεων ἐρατὸν δῶρον επιςάμενος. The King of War does my first service claim: And the fair Muse inspires the second flame. He is charged too with the more serious defects of lasciviousness, and a violence of disposition which disgraced his talents. Upon his merit as a poet, Quintilians has this observation; " he excels in energy of style, his periods are strong, compressed and brilliant, replete with life and vigour; so that if he be secoud to any, it is from defect of subject, not from natural inferiority of genius." He appears to have written elegies, satires, odes, and epigrams, but of all these we have only the above quotation, and one epigram, left. In the Anthologia, there is a short epitaph on this ancient

poet.

Of Stesichorus or Stersichorus, we have only some trifling fragments. His name was originally Tisias; but he derives that by which he is better known from having been the first who taught the chorus to dance to the Lyre. He was born at Himera, a city in Sicily, in the 37th Olymp. and a contemporary with Solon. He appears to have been conspicuous for wisdom and authority among his fellowcitizens, and to have been concerned in the public transactions between that state and the tyrant Phalaris. When they chose that prince for their commander, and were proceeding to vote him a guard for his person, the poet strenuously opposed the design; and, by an appropriate fable||, made them sensi

* Poet cap. 4.
+ Lib. 1. Epist. 19.

Strab. Lib. 12. p. 549.
Instit. lib. 10. c. 1.
Aris. Rhet. lib. 2. c. 21..

As

ble of their folly. Phalaris, in revenge, intercepted him in his passage to Corinth,, and intended to put him to death; but lents, and the excellence of his character, becoming better acquainted with his tahe honourably returned him to his native city, and from that time became his friend and benefactor. There is an epis tle from Phalaris to the poet himself, in which he exhorts him to carry on the design of his muse, and, if writing against tyranny, not to suppress any expression, from the dread of his resentment. the epistles of Phalaris are, however, by many suspected not to be genuine, the authenticity of this anecdote must rest upon the degree of credit we allow them. Stesichorus died in Olymp. 56, at Catana, in Sicily, and a magnificent tomb was erected to his memory, near one of its gates. It was composed of eight columns, had eight steps and eight angles after the cabalistical numbers of Pythagoras, whose mysterious philosophy was then in fashion. The cubic number of eight and magnificence; hence the proverb was emblematical of strength, solidity, Hála Olá, by which was meant any thing perfect or compleat.

Alcæus flourished in the 44th Olymp. at Mitylene in the island of Lesbos, and was accounted one of the greatest lyricks of antiquity. He was a contemporary of Sappho, and born in the same place. He was a man of the first rank in that little

state, and headed the people when they
asserted their liberty against the tyrant
Pittacus. He was at first unsuccessful,
being compelled to leave the city; but
returning with a more powerful force, he
expelled the tyrant, and restored the an-
cient privileges of the city. He appears
to have been remarkable for his desire of
military fame. In some lines preserved
in Athenæust, he enumerates the shields
and helmets, belts and ensigns, which
decorated his house.

Μαρμαρει δὲ μέγας δομος χαλχώ.
Πᾶσα δ' Αρει κεκόσμηται γέγη
Λαμπραίσι κυνέαισιν.

With burnished brass my spacious rooms are
decked;

To the fierce god of War.
And polished helmets consecrate my house

His personal courage, however, if we may credit Herodotusf, did not correspond with these external marks. In a battle between the Mitylenians and the

Epist. 147.
t. Lib. 14. p. 627,
1 Lib. 5.

Athenians

Athenians, in which the latter were victorious, A'cæus fled, and left his shield to the eneiny, who hung it up in triumph in the temple of Pallas. It should seem that notwithstanding the merit of having resisted the tyranny of Pittacus, he was afterwards suspected of entertaining himself designs inimical to the freedom of his country. He was a warm but unsuccessful admirer of Sappho. Aristotle has recorded in a short and well known dialogue, the rebuke she gave him. With this attachment to Sappho and other women, and the character of a great drinker, he united the vice so common among the Greeks. To this Horace, with whom he has been frequently compared, and between whom, indeed, there were some points of resemblance, alludes in one of his odes: Liberum et Musas, Veneremq. & illi Semper hærentem puerum canebat; Et Lycam nigris oculis, nigroque.

Crine decorum.t

But his merit as a poet was undisputed; and though his writings were chiefly in the Lyrick strain, his genius was capable of dignifying the sublimest objects. His style was lofty and vehement, which made Quintiliant observe, that he deserved the golden plectrum, as is bestowed on him by Horace, for his poems against the oppression of tyrants. There remain only a few fragments collected by Fulvius Ursinus. They were never printed separately, but may be found in the various editions of the early Lyrick poets.

We close this list with the celebrated name of Sappho, which has the misfortune, like all those which we have enumerated, of presenting a very confused, though popular story. She, like Alcæus, was born at Mitylene, in Lesbos, at the same period; that is, under the government of Pittacus. Her mother's name was Cleis, but that of her father is by no means so certain, as Suidas mentions no less than eight, who contended for the honour. Her love for the handsome, but coy Phaon, his cold rejection of her advances, her despair, her leap from the rock of Leucate, are too well known, and the recital of too fabulous a nature, to bear a repetition here. To this disappointment, however, whether real or imaginary, we are indebted for some of her finest pieces; particularly

Rhetor. I. 1. c. 9. + Lib. 1. Od. 32. Instit 1. 10. c. 1.

her hymn to Venus, and the beautiful epistle addressed to Phaon, which Ovid is supposed to have entirely borrowedfrom that of Sappho, now lost. Her person, indeed, does not seem to have been calculated to inspire any very extraordinary passion, for the lady was short, and of a brown complexion. Övid has made her notice these defects with great delicacy and ingenuity. They were lost in the fame she acquired by her poetical talents. The Mitylenians, to express their sense of her worth, paid her sovereign honours, after she was dead, and event. coined money with her head for the stamp. The reader will find an epigram upon this, in the Anthologia. Of nine books of Odes, besides elegies, epigrams, iambicks, epithalamiums, and other pieces, there is nothing remaining entire, but the hymn to Venus, which we find in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, and an Ode addressed to a young maiden, preserved in Longinus, and translated by Addison. The style of this Ode, seems to favour the tradition so common among the ancients, that the warmth of Sappho's disposition hurried her into an improper passion for her own sex. Madame Dacier takes great pains to vindicate her memory froin such a charge; but apparently with more erudition than ingenuity, with more zeal than success. The remains of Sappho are certainly sufficient to justify her great celebrity as a poet. There is an uncommon softness in her style; with all that luxurious warmth of tenderness, which characterized her disposition. She excels all the Greek poets in sweetness of verse, and though Catullus and Ovid professedly strive to imitate her, it is rarely, if ever, that they succeed.

The various editions of these authors are, of Orpheus.

Argonautica, edit. prin. 4to. Florent. 1500.

Of

Gr. 8vo. Venet. ap. Ald. 1517. w.
Musæus.

Gr. and Lat. 12° Ultraj. 1689.

Orpheus, de Lapidibus, Gr. and Lat. with Gr. and Lat. 8vo. Gesner. Lips. 1764notes by Tyrwhitt. Lond. 8vo 1781. Musæus, Gr. 4to. sine loci et ann. indiciis. Venet. apud Ald. no year. but supposed to be the first Greek book printed by Aldus.

Si mihi difficilis formam Natura negavit,
Ingenio formæ damna rependo meæ
Sum brevis.

+ "Αυτή σοι πλάτειρα φύσις παρέδωκε τυπώσαι Τὰν Μυτιληναίων ζωγράφι πιερίδα. 4. 4. Museus

Museus de Herone et Leandro à Barthio, 8vo. Nature," nor the sneers of Voltaire, have

Amberg. 1603.

Cum notis Roveri. 8vo. L. Bat. 1727.

ex recensione Schroderi, 8vo. Leovard.

1743, an excellent edition.

For Alcæus-Vide inter Poetas Lyricos diver

sarum edit. Genevæ. fol. and 24to.

Sappho, Gr. and Lat. Notis Var. and Chr.
Wolfii. Hamburg 1732, 4to.
Inter novem Fœminarum Græcarum Carmina,
Græcè, curâ Fulvii Ursini,

Ap. Plantin. 1598, 8vo.

made me waver, or even pau for a moment. This, with the most inmble gratitude, I regard as one of the greatest kindnesses of Providence. Genuine christian morality, I have not only never disputed; but its sublimity, and majesty, and saving truths have, as it were, dazzled my sight; and I have never seriously conside it, without the most earnest wish to become altogether such a person, in heart and conduct, as its influence is capable of effecting in all. But of the

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. mysterious doctrines of theoretical chris

SIR,

IIE attention of the public was TH called to the writings of Dr. Less, by Dr. H. Maish, in his translation of Michaelis; and it is to be lamented, for the sake of religion, that we have not hitherto had that excellent German author introduced to us in an English dress. Although a voluminous writer, he is deserving of all possible attention, for his learning, piety, and impartiality; and I cannot but think, that a full translation of his two volumes upon religion would be generally well received. The first volume is entitled, "Uber die Religion, ihre Geschichte, Wahl, und Bestätigung." The second has, in addition to the above, the following title, "Wahrheit der Christlichen Religion." I have in my possession the 2d edition of 1786, pub. lished at Göttingen. To give some idea of the author, permit me to beg your insertion of the following translation, &c. November, 1803. A. W. E.

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Translation of the preface to the 5th edition of Dr. Less, Upon Religion." After having, for the three and twenty years of my ministry in this place (Göttingen) and at Dantzic, contemplated and experienced the ebb and flow of human opinions, as well within my own breast, as in that of other men; after having undertaken every kind of proof, examination, and thorough discussion of the contents of that religion, which I profess, I conceive it will not be superfluous in this last, and more finished state of my work, to explain in few words the sentiments resalting to me from the whole.

My belief of the doctrines of pure na tural religion has been, throughout my life, so firm and unshaken, as never to have been once interrupted. Neither the sophistry of the "Système de la

tianity, there is not one, I rejoice to say it, which has not in due order occupied my doubts. There have been periods of my life, when the tenets of the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Ghost, as well as of the meritorious satisfaction of the Redeemer, appeared to for some successive years I declined exme so unscriptural, and improbable, that of our religion. For I have always conpressing myself upon the doctrinal points

sidered it

as particularly base and treacherous, to propound any thing as truth, or rather as religious truth, which which he almost regards as false. I rea man does not believe himself, and peated my investigation from time to time, especially on the scriptural authoadvances I made in knowledge, the more rity of these doctrines. And, the greater I was convinced that it is only the ignorant and unreasonable, who reject "any thing, merely because they do not comprchend it. My doubts continued some years longer, and were in some measure increased. In the mean time, however, I became gradually better acquainted with the real sense of those doctrines, and discovered that they admitted of a very rational, and generally useful exposition. Nothing, however, gave me so clear an insight into them, as the reading of the New Testament in the hour of solitary morning devotion. It was under these circumstances, when I could have no determinate object, upon which to institute learned enquiries; when I perused the expressions of our Redeemer, and his apostles, in succession, and with the context; and when I completely opened my heart and under standing to embrace the light and life of heavenly revelations; that I have prin cipally collected the whole store of my more elevated and blessed truths. And it was under the same circumstances, that my scruples imperceptibly vannhed

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