PARSON'S Aftronomic Doubts, 319 PARTHIAN Exile, a Tragedy, 245 PATSAL'STranil. of Quintilian, 330 PENNANT'S Tour in Scotland, and 368 PLEASURES of Retirement, 238 Expedit, Accountant, 403 POPHAM'S Selecta Poemata Anglo- PRACTICE of the British and French PRICE'S Hift. of Wales,new Edit.163 PRIESTLEY'S Experiments on Air, 187 294 400 SERMONS on relig. Hypocrify, 355 69 REFLECTIONS On Lindfey's Apo- SOLITARY Walks, 78 297 REFUTATION Of Henry's Letter to ROBINSON's Three Indexes to Lon- View of the Manners, &c. CONTENTS to the FOREIGN ARTICLES, in the APPENDIX to this Volume. LAGET'S Difcourfes on the Chriftian Re- 534 POLAND. See DROITS. ib, HISTOIRE et Memoires of the Amfter- THE MONTHLY REVIEW, For JULY, 1774. ART. I. Comedies of Plautus, translated into familiar Blank Verfe, by the Gentleman who tranflated The Captives. Volume the Fifth and last. 8vo. 6 s. bound. Becket. 1774. TH HIS very ingenious and refpectable tranflation now calls for our laft attention: and in the capacity of public cri ticism, we have nothing more to do than to fet down, for the Tranflator's future confideration, fuch remarks as may occur to us in comparing certain parts of the English Plautus with the original. In the Bacchides, or Courtezans, the first comedy in this volume, we could with the Tranflator had not followed the French editors in admitting the fpurious firft fcene. BACCHID. ACT I. Sc. I. Mala tu es beftia. Nam huic ætati non conducit latebrofus locus. The metaphor here is not fupported, nor the happy fenfe of the IB. Penetrare hujufmodi in palæstram ubi damnis defudafcitur, TRANSLATION. In the heydey of my blood, To enter one of these academies, Where people toil and fweat for their undoing, My running will be my difgrace and shame. B We We cannot fay that this fatisfies us. The fourth line in particular has no precifion of idea, nor propriety of expreffion. The word academies does not correfpond with the idea of toil and fweat, as defudafcitur does with palatra in the original.Simply in profe it might ftand thus, a pretty field of exercise this for a young man, where he ruft play-to lofs, and run to fhame!' IB. At nimium preciofa es operaria. TRANS, Alas! you'll be a mistress too expensive. The word miftress here feems a little unlucky as a translation of operaria. IB. ACT IV. Sc. I. Quæque harum funt ædes, pulta. Knock at it whichfoe'er's the house, The original led the Tranflator into this little inaccuracy, which, however, may as well be removed. Who i'ft comes out, in the fame scene, is rather harsh, and may be omitted. IB. ACT IV. Sc. VIII. Equom eft tabellis confignatis credere. It is but right, That, when they're feal'd, I fhould give credit to them. The original feems to be a general obfervation on the credit due to fealed writings, in contrast to the verba danti fervo, whole faith Nicobulus had been just then doubting, rather than to have any particular reference to the letter of Mnefilochus, which the Tranflator has given it. IB. Sc. IX. Nunc Priamo noftro fi quis eft emptor, coëmtionalem fenem Vendam ego, venalem quem habeo, extemplo ubi oppidum expugnavero. LITERALLY, Now if I can find a purchaser for our Priam, I will fell an old man, whom I have for fale, in the fame lot with him, immediately after I have taken the town.’ We have quoted the original as it is pointed in our editions of Plautus, and we entirely agree with Gronovius in his fenfe of coemtionalis. By the fenem coëmtionalem, Chryfalus most probably means the father of Piftoclerus. We leave this conftruction of the paffage, which Mr. Warner has not followed, to his better judgment. periffe fuavius eft IB. Suavius |