met, he was always very civil ;) and I received undoubted information, that he seldom missed an opportunity of speaking ill of me behind my back. Goldsmith's common conversation was a strange mixture of absurdity and silliness; of silliness so great as to make me think sometimes that he affected it. Yet he was a great genius of no mean rank somebody, who knew him well, called him an inspired idiot. His ballad of "Edwin and Angelina," is exceedingly beautiful; and in his two other poems, though there be great inequalities, there is pathos, energy, and even sublimity." son. In 1790 Beattie lost his eldest son; and in 1796, his remaining These successive shocks were too much for a tender heart! already half broken by the sorrow for their mother's incurable malady. From the last event he at times lost his senses. "A deep gloom," says he, "hangs upon me, and disables all my faculties; and thoughts so strange sometimes occur to me, as to make me "fear that I am not," as Lear says, " in my perfect mind.” Yet, on May 15, 1797, he wrote a letter to Mr. Frazer Tytler, somewhat in his former manner; from whence the following extract is derived. sion of length, that I have seen. The author must have had an amazing command of Latin phraseology, and a very nice ear in harmony. **** "Being curious to know some particulars of Dobson, I inquired of him at Johnson, who owned he had known him, but did not seem inclined to speak on the subject. But Johnson hated Milton from his heart; and he wished to be himself considered as a good Latin poet; which however, he never was, as may be seen by his translation of Pope's Messiah. All that I could ever hear of Dobson's private life was, that in his old age he was given to drinking. My edition of his book is dated 1750. It is dedicated to Mr. Benson, who was a famous admirer of Milton; and from the dedication it would seem to have been written at his desire, and under his patronage.* He Dr. J. Warton says, that Benson "gave Dobson £1000 for his Latin translation of Paradise Lost. Dobson had acquired great reputation by his translation of Prior's Solomon, the first book of which he finished, when he was a scholar at Winchester college. had not at that time, as he told me, (for I knew him well) read Lucretius, which would have given a richness and force to his verses; the chief fault of which was a monotony, and want of variety of Virgilian pauses. Mr. Pope wished him to translate the Essay on Man, which he began to do; but relinquished on account of the impossibility of imitating its brevity in another language. He has avoided the monotony abovementioned in his Milton; which monotony was occasioned by translating a poem in rhyme. Bishop Hare, a capable judge, used to mention his Solomon as one of the purest pieces of modern Latin poetry. Though he had so much felicity in translating, yet his original poems, of which I have seen many, were very feeble and flat, and contained no mark of genius. He had no great stock of general literature, and was. 1798. “I am acquainted with he seems to have arrived at the many parts of your excursion utmost height, of which his powthrough the north of England, and ers were capable ; but this is far very glad that you had my old from being the case with the poefriend Mr. Gray's “ Letters” with try he has left. Beautiful as is his you, which are indeed so well Minstrel, yet, had he concluded it written, that I have no scruple to on the plan he originally intended, pronounce them the best letters, which I must venture, in opposi. that have been printed in our lan- tion to Dr. Aikin, to say, was guage. Lady Mary Montagu's easily within the scope of his ge. Letters are not without merit, nius, he would have contributed but are too artificial and affected very materially both to its variety to be confided in as true ; and and its interest. I will add that Lord Chesterfield's have much the innocent and exalted occupation greater faults ; indeed, some of might have soothed his broken the greatest that letters can have: spirits, and gilded the clouds of but Gray's letters are always sen- his latter days. sible, and of classical conciseness It is not easy to guess, when and perspicuity. They very much we consider the opinions which resemble what his conversation this excellent author himself pro He had none of the airs of mulgated in his philosophical either a scholar or a poet ; and works, on what ground he depre. though on those, and all other sub- ciated the dignity, or the use, of jects, he spoke to me with the ut- his capacity as a poet. But it is most freedom, and without any certain that, at least for the last reserve, he was, in general com- thirty years of his life, he did pany, much more silent than one slight and neglect it most unjust: could have wished.” ly. There is no adequate reason for considering it inconsistent Dr. Beattie died Aug. 18, 1803, with his professional functions, æt. 68. which his exemplary virtue induc. His character has been as justly ed him to discharge with uncomand eloquently, as briefly, sketched mon industry and attention. It by Mrs. Montagu, in a letter to would, on the contrary, have re. himself. “ We considered you,” lieved the toil of them, by a de. says she, “ as a poet, with admira- lightful diversity of ideas. But it tion ; as a philosopher, with res- may be suspected, that there was pećt ; as a Christian, with venera- a certain timidity in this good tion ; and as a friend, with affec- man's mind, not entirely consonant tion.” He clearly directed his with the richness of his endow, ambition to excellence, rather as a ments. In the cause of religion philosopher, than as a poet ; and indeed, his piety made him bold ; yet it is apparent, that these studies but he was otherwise a little too were not congenial to his natural sensible of popular prejudices. taste ; but that they fatigued and The goodness of the cause and oppressed him. In these paths the particular occasion, has added an accidental value to his great was by no means qualified to pronounce philosophical work, “ The Essay on what degree of learning Pope possessed ; and I am surprised that John on Truth." But I believe I am son should quote him, as saying, “I not singular in asserting, that his found Pope had more learning than i genius is least capable of rivalry expected. Warton's Pope, V.240. in that “ Minstrel,” on which he .... bestowed so little comparative at tention while it is apparent that, even there, his severer studies occasionally encumbered and depressed his fancy. Burns knew better the strength which nature had bestowed on him, and giving full scope to it, succeeded accordingly. now The Letters which are published, exhibit Dr. Beatie's moral character in the most amiable light. Their style unites ease and elegance; and they prove the correctness of his opinions, the nicety of his taste, and the soundness of his judgment. They discover, above all, the tenderness of his heart, and the fervour of his religion. But the frankness of truth demands from me the confession, that they do not appear to me to possess those characteristick excellences, as literary compositions, which enchant us in the letters of Burns and Cowper; and which none but themselves could have written. He has nothing like the touching simplicity of the poet of Weston; nor any thing like the ardent eloquence of the He scarce Bard of Airshire.* I would now willingly enter into the peculiar traits both of the poetical and prose works, on which Beattie's fame was founded; but this article is already too long; (I hope my readers will not think it out of place ;) and I have now neither room nor leisure for more, except to say, that as a poet he possessed an originality, and an excellence, to which I doubt whether justice has yet been done.t July 2, 1806. I do not recollect that the names of Cowper, or Burns, once occur in Beattie's own letters, which is singular. vidence should ever permit me a little It has long been my wish, if Procontinued leisure from the sorrows and perplexities, by which I have for some years been agitated, to enter into an entire separate Disquisition on the Poetical Character; its tendencies; the mode in which it should be cherished; and the benefits to be derived from it. BIOGRAPHY. For the Monthly Anthology. LIFE OF RICHARD BENTLEY, D. D. [Concluded from page 567.] Τιμιωτατα μεν και πρώτα τα περ την ψυχήν αγαθα.-PLAT. de Leg. IV. WE cannot enter into a particular examination of Bentley's corrections on the present occasion, as the life of our favourite critick has already extended far beyond the proposed limits. One emendation we must transcribe, as it is very happy, and elucidates a passage which was neither measure nor sense. Lib. V. 733. Utque per ingentes populus describitur urbes Præcipuumque patres retinent, et proximum equester Ordo locum; populumque equiti, populoque subire Vulgus iners videas, et jam sine nomine turbam: Sic etiam magno quædam RESPUBLICA mundo est. In the last line some copies have The respondere : of which the learned thors on whom he employed his editor in his note says : Respon- corrective talents, with a view to dere conjugationis tertiæ omnem publication. in the preface to barbariem ersuperat. Nec scias his immortal dissertation on the numeri an sententia sit pejor." Epistles of Phalaris, he says: “I Toup mentions this passage in had t.:en prepared a Manilius for his Epistola Critica with its due the press, which had been publishportion of praise : « Quin et, ed already, had not the dearness of dum hæc scribo, commodum in men- paper, and the want of good types, tem venit emendationis Bentleianæ. and some other occasions, hinderin Manilium, quam hæc occasione ed me.” monitus, hic in transitu sublevan- In the former part of this life, dam curabo, nam et mea post me we intentionally omitted mentionalii curabunt scilicet." He then ing Bentley's views, with regard to quotes the passage, and gives the Manilius. We shall now translast lines as it stands in the com- cribe from the same preface whatmon copies : ever relates to this subject. Sic etiam magno quædam respondere Bentley had been accused by mundo. Boyle of sending a manuscript treatise about Theodorus Mallius, Locus elegantissimus, sed versus written by Rubenius, to Grevius, postremus manifesto corruptus est : emendabat Bentleii sagacitas : for publication, without mention ing Sir Edward Sherburn's name, Sic etiam in magno quædam RESPUBLI. from whom he had received it. CA mundo est. This charge Bentley fully confutes. Quod alii veri, alii falsi simile esse “ I had prepared, he says, a new dicuntego vero nihil ertius esse edition of Manilius ; which deaffirmo. Fidem faciet Lactantius, sign being known abroad, occasionEpit. cap. 2. Sic IN MUNDI RE- ed my acquaintance with Sir EdPUBLICA, nisi unus fuisset modera- ward Sherburn, who had formerly tor, &c. There are several other translated the first book of that emendations, which display as poet into English verse, and exmuch critical sagacity, and equally plained it with a large commenmerit adoption ; though Bentley tary. He had got together some has been accused of pretending old and scarce editions, which he not to understand passages in Ma- courteously lent me ; and beside nilius, merely to have an opportu- those, he had purchased at Antnity of exercising his abilities at werp, by the means of a booksel. correction. We do not pretend to ler, a whole box full of papers of vouch for the truth of this accusa- the famous Gaspar Gevartius's, tion, but must confess that we do who undertook an edition of the not give it much credit. Such an same poet, but was prevented by affectation of ignorance could only death." produce ridicule, for if Bentley Among these papers he found chose to be blind and dull himself, little of any consequence, but the he could not suppose that the manuscript already mentioned, world would, therefore, be less which he sent to the learned Gresharp sighted. vius, who quite forgot the circumThe Astronomicon of Manilius stances of Sir Edward Sherburn's was the last classical work which box, when he published the book, Dr. Bentley lived to publish, al- and incautiously dedicated it to though he was among the first au- Dr. Bentley. He, however, after wards apologized very sufficiently executed by such a scholar must for this neglect, in a letter to our have been valuable; and it is rather learned critick, which he thus con- surprising, when his deep know)cludes : « Valeet tibi persuade, edge of Greek is considered, that te doctos omnes viros maximè facere, he did not devote his time serirumpantur ut ilia Codris ; sed nem- ously to publishing more of the inem esse qui te majoris faciat, et writers in that language. He exmagis æstimet quam ego te facio." ecuted, indeed, much less than he In the former part of the epistle, proposed ; but the quarrels, into he confesses that the omission of which he was involved by his eneSir Edward's name was his own mies, may, in some measure, acfault, and that Bentley was not in count for the fewness of the authe least censurable. thors, whose works appeared unIn the same box of Gevartius's der the auspices of the great Bentpapers, there were two copies of a ley. discourse on the age of the poet In the year 1740 Dr. Bentley Manilius, by the learned Godefridus lost his lady, whom he had married Wendelinus. One of these Sir soon after he was preferred to the Edward presented to Bentley, who mastership of Trinity-College. He proposed to prefix the whole, or a did not long survive her, but died part of it, to his edition of the As- the fourteenth day of July, 1742, tronomicon. It is much, there and was buried in Trinity-College fore, to be lamented, that the Doc- chapel. The following short in. tor did not write the preface or scription is placed on the stone prolegomena to this edition, as the which covers his grave : learned world might then have H. S. E. been in possession of his senti- RichARDUS BENTLEY, ments with regard to this author, S. T. P. R. and his various editors and com OBIT XIV. Jul. 1742. mentators, more fully than they Ætatis 80. are stated by his nephew. These are all the monumental In the account of Bentley's early honours of this great man, who life, one circumstance was omitted. needed not the inscription of a About the time of the publication tomb-stone to transmit his memoof his Epistle to Dr. Mill, on the ry to posterity Chronography of Malela, he pub. He left behind him three childlished a specimen of a new edition His son, Mr. Richard Bento of Philostratus, at Leipsic... Only ley, who was educated under the one sheet was printed. This cir- Doctor's inspection, at Trinity cumstance is mentioned by the in. College, of which he was chosen defatigable Fabricius, and by Olea- fellow, succeeded his father as rius, in his preface to the works of Royal Librarian at St. James's, Philostratus. They do not, how. but resigned that place in 1745. ever, mention the reason of his He died in the year 1782, and was laying his plan aside. He intend more eminent for his elegant taste ed to have given the text in a more in the polite arts, than for his phi. correct manner than former editors, lological acquisitions. He displaywith notes and a new Latin version. ed his ingenuity and fancy in the We cannot help lamenting that admirable designs which he made Bentley did not prosecute his design. Every edition of the ancients * Biog. Brit. v. 1. p. 242. note FF. Vol. III. No. 12. 4G ren. |