Tully. From age to age by your renown'd forefathers. Addifon. The mistress of the world, the feat of empire, Tully. Roma domus virtutis, imperii dignitatis, domicilium gloriæ, lux orbis terrarum, de oratore. "The first half of the 5 Sc. 3 Act, is nothing but a tranfcript from the 9 book of lucan between the 300 and the 700 line. You fee by this fpecimen the exactness of Mr. Addifon's judgment who wanting fentiments worthy the Roman Cato fought for them in Tully and Lucan. When he wou'd give his fubject those terrible graces which Dion. Hallicar complains he could find no where but in Homer, he takes the affiftance of our Shakspeare, who in his Julius Cæfar has painted the confpirators with a pomp and terrour that perfectly astonishes. hear our British Ho mer. : Between the acting of a dreadful thing Mr. Addison has thus imitated it : O think what anxious moments pass between Filled up with horror all, & big with death. I have two things to obferve on this imitation. 1. the decorun this exact Mr. of propriety has obferved. In the Confpiracy of Shakespear's description, the fortunes of Cæfar and the roman Empire were concerned. And the magnificent circumstances of "The genius and the mortal inftruments "Are then in council." is exactly proportioned to the dignity of the fubject. But this wou'd have been too great an apparatus to the desertion of Syphax and the of Sempronius, and therefore Mr. Addison omits it. rape II. The other thing more worthy our notice is, that Mr. A. was fo greatly moved and affected with the pomp of Sh:s description, that inftead of copying his author's fentiments, he has before he was aware given us only the marks of his own impressions on the reading him. For, "O'tis a dreadful interval of time "Filled up with horror all, and big with death." are but the affections raised by fuch lively images as thefe all the Int'rim is "Like a phantafma or a hideous dream. &, "The ftate of man-like to a little kingdom suffers then "The nature of an infurrection." Again when Mr. Addison would paint the fofter paffions he has recourse to Lee who certainly had a peculiar genius that way. thus his Juba "True fhe is fair. O how divinely fair!" coldly imitates Lee in his Alex : "Then he wou'd talk: Good Gods how he wou'd talk! I pronounce the more boldly of this, because Mr. A. in his 39 Spec. expreffes his admiration of it. My paper fails me, or I fhould now offer to Mr. Theobald an objection agt. Shakspeare's acquaintance with the ancients. As it appears to me of great weight, and as it is neceffary he fhou'd be prepared to obviate all that occur on that head. But fome other opportunity will present itfelfe. You may now, Sr, juftly complain of my ill manners in deferring till now, what thou'd have been firft of all acknowledged due to you, which is my thanks for all your favours when in town, particularly for introducing me to the knowledge of those worthy and ingenious Gentlemen that made up our last night's converfation. I am, Sir, with all efteem your most obliged friend and humble fervant The foregoing Letter was found about the year 1750, by Dr. Gawin Knight, firft librarian to the British Museum, in fitting up The a houfe which he had taken in Crane Court, Fleet Street. house had, for a long time before, been let in lodgings, and in all probability, Concanen had lodged there. The original letter has been many years in iny poffeflion, and is here moft exactly copied, with its feveral little peculiarities in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. April 30. 1766. M. A. The above is copied from an indorsement of Dr. Mark Akenfide as is the preceding letter from a copy given by him to Mr. Steevens. I have carefully retained all the peculiarities above mentioned. MALONE. Dr. Jofeph Warton, in a note on Pope's Dunciad, Book II. obferves, that at the time when Concanen published a pamphlet. entitled, A Supplement to the Profund, (1728) he was intimately acquainted with Dr. Warburton. STEEVENS. END OF VOL. XVI. Printed by J. PLYMSELL, Leather Lane, Holborn, London. |