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recommend, so strongly as he does, the learning by heart of moral Aphorisms* in verse, in the Education of Children. Well might the early Wisdom of Greece be concentrated into this form. And of a similar nature, however rude and imperfect, is the traditional Wisdom of nearly all Nations. And in the most highly cultivated state of Society, the greatest, as has been instanc'd, the best and most refin'd Writers, the most comprehensive in their knowledge and powers of Mind, the best Benefactors of Mankind by the diffusion of Wisdom and Virtue have given copious and most forcible examples of the aphoristic language.

If it were ask'd from what sources Shakespeare drew these abundant streams of Wisdom, carrying with their current the fairest and most unfading Flowers of Poetry, I should be tempted to say, he had what would be now consider'd a very reasonable portion of Latin: he was not wholly ignorant of Greek; he had a knowledge of the French, so as to read it with ease;

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and I believe not less of the Italian. He was habitually conversant in the Chronicles of his Country. He liv'd with wise and highly culti vated men; with Jonson, Essex, and Southampton, in familiar Friendship. He had deeply imbibed the Scriptures. And his own most acute, profound, active, and original Genius (for there never was a truly great Poet, nor an aphoristic Writer of Excellence without these accompanying qualities) must take the lead in the Solution.

Something may be proper to be said of the fullness with which these Aphorisms are extracted. It seem'd fit that Aphorisms of every kind, provided that they contained the essential requisite of Truth, should be included in this Collection. Whoever collects Beauties of any kind from Shakespeare, will lose with reluctance any

* Shakespeare was born 23d April, 1564; and died 23d April, 1616; being one of the few eminent Persons, the Day of whose Birth and Death has coincided was, with very little difference, a Contemporary with Sir Francis Bacon; in acuteness, range and profundity of Observation, in fulness of style, in exuberance of idea, these extraordinary Men have a great similitude to each other.

* Of these Petrarch is another.

particle of those beauties. And many which are very obvious, and may be called truisms, may yet by their subject or their mode of expression be very interesting and important". Indeed, those who love Shakespeare as he merits would, perhaps, with reason have been displeased if more than some few of them had been omitted. Of what has been omitted, those who are conversant in the Works of our unrivalled Poet will see the reasons for the omission..

One reason is this: In a Dramatic Writer so observant of character as Shakespeare, remarks in the aphoristic form will occasionally be made which are only dramatically just: or sometimes which are merely ironical. Now in a Collection of Aphorisms, nothing ought to be inserted which is not substantially true: an Aphorism being a Definition of an interesting Truth or Principle reduced to a concise, simple, and impressive Pro

* To this effect it has very justly been remarkt, that an Aphorism is not only valuable when it conveys some rare and abstruse truth, but often and more generally when it conveys an obvious and useful principle in a clear and concise form.. And, indeed, among the most greatly, generally, and perpetually important. Vide ApH. for YouTH, 289.

position. But as persons habitually vicious have rarely any claim to the character of close, strong, consistent reasoners, and persons misled by passion lose that character while they are so, not many remarks of an aphoristic nature are thus lost by having been adapted to such characters. In ge neral, the wise, the innocent, and the good, who are consequently the calm and reflecting, express themselves in Shakespeare, as in Nature, far more frequently in this manner than characters of a contrary description. As to ironical Aphorisms, as the irony would commonly disappear in their detacht form, they would be liable to misinterpretation: therefore very few have been inserted.

But another circumstance might occur not unfrequently in truly Dramatic Writings: that an aphoristic principle is so incorporated with the individuality of the character and occasion, as tó lose part of its aphoristic quality; its abstractedness and general application.

In such instances those words have sometimes been omitted, in which the circumstantiation consisted: and, where necessary, words have been added or changed: and sometimes, though rarely, little more than the aphoristic basis, general

idea, inference or deduction is retain'd; as little more, in those instances, could be retain❜d. Sometimes an Aphorism is extracted from the general turn and dramatic import of a sentiment, qr even incident: though in words and direct form it will not be found.

Aphorisms, indeed, are to Dramatic Reflections what Algebraic Problems and their solu tions are to Arithmetical. They give the conditions of the question, and their result, in that form which is best adapted for the investigation, discovery, and clear deduction of general Principles; from which particular applications may be very copiously and variously drawn.

Sometimes a passage, where the terms are ca pable of a striking aphoristic meaning, is applied by accommodation in that sense. But this is very rarely indeed *.

Where there is any change, except merely of omission of unnecessary words, it is markt by a Character prefixt.

Sometimes the Aphorism is imbedded, as it

Lipsius has done the same in his curious, interesting, and aseful little Work, entitled, "Politica."

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