Ante mare et tellus, et, quod tegit omnia, cœlum, Unus erat toto Naturæ vultus in orbe, Quem dixere Chaos; rudis indigestaque moles.—Ov. Met. i, 5, 6, 7. In this last sentence too, it is worthy of remark, that the word DEUS does not seem as if intended to be applied to any heathen deity, but rather as alluding to the one Supreme God; although the poet, in a subsequent verse, appears at a loss to what deity he ought to ascribe the great work of creation; since he speaks of him thus, quisquis fuit ille Deorum.--Ov. Met. i, 32. This circumstance brings to my recollection, the inscription on the altar, at Athens, Ayvara Ora, mentioned by St. Paul; and they both clearly demonstrate, to what a pitch of ignorance, with respect to the divinity, idolatry had reduced two of the most refined and learned nations at that time, on the face of the earth. But to proceed: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.”—Gen. i. 27. Fixit in effigiem moderantum cuncta Deorum.-Ov. Met. i, 83. The golden age of the poet depicts, in lively colours, the innocence and happiness in which the Scriptures represent our first progenitors to have lived in Paradise. Aurea primâ sata est ætas, quæ vindice nullo, Pœna metusque aberant, &c.—Ov. Met. i, 89. et seq. The fall of man and the consequent wickedness of the human race, are likewise designated with great perspicuity in the poet's iron age: De duro est ultima ferro. Protinus irrumpit venæ pejoris in ævum Omne nefas: fugere pudor, verumque fidesque. Ov. Met. i, 127. et seq. There were giants in the earth in those days.-Gen. vi. 4. And they said, go to, let us build a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven.-Gen. xi. 4. Affectasse ferunt regnum cœleste Gigantas, Altaque congestos struxisse ad sidera montes.—Ov. Met. i, 152, 153. Again, "and God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Qua terra patet, fera regnat Erinnys. In facinus jurasse putes. Ov. Met. i, 241-242. Again: "and behold I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life under Heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.” Pœna placet diversa genus mortale sub undis: Gen. vi. 7 Ov. Met. i, 260--261. Again: "and the Lord said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." says, Gen. vii. 1. Thus the poet speaking of Deucalion, and his wife Pyrrha, Ov. Met. i, 322-523. Non illo melior quisquam, nec amantior æqui Vir fuit, aut illa metuentior ulla Deorum. Again: "and Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood." Gen. vii. 7. "And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat." Mons ibi verticibus petit arduus astra duobus: Gen. viii. 4. Cum consorte tori parva rate vectus adhæsit. Ov. Met. i, 316. et seq. Again: "and Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Gen. viii. 20. flectunt vestigia sanctæ Ad delubra Deæ. Atque ita, si precibus, dixerunt, numina justis Ov. Met. i. 372. et seq. Ov. Met. i. 377. et seq. What the poet says of the destruction of the world, is in strict consonance with the belief of Christians, both as to the certain occurrence of that event, and also as to the element which is destined to accomplish it: Esse quoque infatis reminiscitur, affore tempus, Ov. Met. i. 256. et seq. Criticism. Care, the poet, wrote a work on criticism, in which he makes the following serious comparisons. Will you have Plato's veine, read sir Thomas Smith; the lonic, sir Thomas Moore; Cicero's Ascham, Varro's Chaucer, Demosthenes', -sir John Cheke. He then assimilates Virgil and the earl of Surry, Catullus and Shakspeare, Ovid and Daniel, Lucan and Spencer, Martial and sir John Davies; and ends with, will you have all in all for prose and verse? take the miracle of our age, sir Phil. Sidney. Little did he think that lord Oxford would say, a girl in love could not get through the Arcadia. Matrimony. The following is the very curious account given in an old French novel called le Doyen de Killerane, T. 6. p. 280, of a married life. You cannot conceive how great the force of habit is between two people, who, for a length of time have used the same house, the same table, the same occupations, the same pleasures; and who, in short, passing day and night without scarcely a moment's separation, have learnt mutually to discover their faults, to take no notice of them, to consider themselves as removed from all kinds of bienséances and constraints; to have a right to speak or be silent, when they please; never to disguise their thoughts, and have their pleasures and pains in common. It is not interest which connects them, for they could lead an easy life separate: It is not precisely a taste for the same pleasures, for they do not expect any very lively, and one half of their time is passed in finding out the fallacy of every thing which bears that name. It is not inclination for good living; for if they had every thing upon the table, they have not a grain more appetite; and very often they leave it, without having touched the finest dishes: it is still less love, for they see each other without desire, and part without pain; it scarcely happens that they even use one kind expression, or the simple attentions which they pay to the greatest stranger; and though they use the same bed, they commonly lie down, and get up with perfect indifference. Nevertheless try, if you think it possible to make them live apart: they will laugh at your efforts. FOR THE PORT FOLIO. PARALLEL BETWEEN SCOTT AND CAMPBELL. Plus apud nos vera ratio valeat quam vulgi opinio.—Cicero. THE world has seldom been distinguished by a greater lustre of poetical merit, than at the present period; and the age in which we live, will form a splendid era in the history of that divine art. The spirit of ancient elegance seems to have revived, and the works of Scott and Campbell alone, are superb monuments of the taste of the times. Upon the question of merit between these two great masters of song, the literary world are divided: adhuc sub judice lis est-Comparisons are not only necessary but useful: They effect in literature, what collisions in politics do in government, and furnish, indeed, the only true criteria of excellence. The minds of both Scott and Campbell, were fashioned by nature, for the exertion of no ordinary powers. Gifted with that lofty enthusiasm of feeling, which designates and defines the poet, education has completed in their manhood, what the flattering dreams of their infancy had promised.-Both hold an important place, in the admiration of the public: but while a splendid fortune has followed the exertions of the one, a com parative neglect, has shaded the talents of the other. Campbell however is emerging to a brighter sky: and Scott will find, that present popularity is not always a test of superior merit. Le vrai mérite ne depend point De tems, ni de la mode.-Fr. Peo. There is a higher tribunal, before which the pretensions of all writers must appear, the tribunal of a distant posterity; and, to this, through the vista of time, Campbell may look with a firm and steady confidence. The style of Ca pbell is always polished, elegant, and refined: that of Scott sometimes harsh, colloquial, and crude. The march of the former is ever equal, portly, and dignified: that of the latter frequen ly irregular, affected, and unchaste.-Scott has more boldness of imagination, and greater grandeur of conception: Campbell more tenderness of feeling, and greater beauty of execution. The one like a foaming torrent dashing in thunder down the precipice, raises emotions of wonder and astonishment: the other, like a placid stream, winding its silver waves through a parterre of flowers, excites the most delicate sensations of delight. The genius of Scott, like the flash of the lightning, throws an imposing grandeur, and not unfrequently a terrific sublimity, over the images of his mind: that of Campbell like the warm tints of the sun-beam, beautifies and enlightens all that it touches. In vain would we search the pages of Campbell for a character so bold, animated, and original, as that of Roderick Dhu: but Scott has never pencilled to the "mind's eye" a being so pure, elevated, and chaste, as the beautiful and impassioned Gertrude. We cite these two particular instances of execution, because we have ever regarded them as the chef d'œuvres of the bards. It has been said that Campbell is deficient in fire and sublimity of sentiment; and while he has been called by some, the poet of the lady's bower, Scott has been rewarded by his admirers with the proud title of the bard of heroism and of arms—we aver that the assertion stands contradicted.. Campbell's disposition may lead him to the cultivation of a different order of poetry, but he is not therefore incapable of adorning particular subjects with all the majesty of the Epic Muse.-Scott never sketched a scene superior in grand and terrific imagery to that |