The Greeks for a time travelled into Egypt, but they tranflated no books from the Egyptian language; and when the Macedonians had overthrown the empire of Perfia, the countries that became fubject to the Grecian dominion studied only the Grecian literature. The books of the conquered nations, if they had any among them, funk in oblivion; Greece confidered herself as the mistress, if not as the parent of arts, her language contained all that was fuppofed to be known, and, except the facred writings of the Old Teftament, I know not that the library of Alexandria adopted any thing from a foreign tongue.

The Romans confeffed themselves the scholars of the Greeks, and do not appear to have expected, what has fince happened, that the ignorance of fucceeding ages would prefer them to their teachers. Every man who in Rome afpired to the praise of literature, thought it neceffary to learn Greek, and had no need of versions when they could ftudy the originals. Tranflation, however, was not wholly neglected. Dramatic poems could be underflood by the people in no language but their own, and the Romans were fometimes entertained with the tragedies of Euripides and the comedies of Menander. Other works were fometimes attempted; in an old fcholiaft there is mention of a Latin Iliad, and we have not wholly loft Tully's verfion of the poem of Aratus; but it does not appear that any man grew eminent by interpreting another, and perhaps it was more frequent to tranflate for exercise or amufement than for fame.

The Arabs were the first nation who felt the ardour of tranflation: when they had subdued the eastern provinces of the Greek empire, they found their captives wifer than themselves, and made hafte to relieve their wants by imparted knowledge. They difcovered that many might grow wife by the labour of a few, and that improvements might be made with fpeed, when they had the knowledge of former ages in their own language. They therefore made hafte to lay hold on medicine and philofophy, and turned their chief authors into Arabic. Whether they attempted the poets is not known; their literary zeal was vehement, but it was fort, and probably expired before they had time to add the arts of elegance to thofe of neceffity.

The study of ancient literature was interrupted in Europe by the irruption of

the northern nations, who fubverted the Roman empire, and erected new kingdoms with new languages. It is not ftrange,

that fuch confufion fhould fufpend literary attention: those who loft, and those who gained dominion, had immediate difficulties to encounter and immediate miferies to redress, and had little leisure, amidft the violence of war, the trepidation of flight, the diftreffes of forced migration, or the tumults of unfettled conqueft, to enquire after speculative truth, to enjoy the amufement of imaginary adventures, to know the hiftory of former ages, or study the events of any other lives. But no fooner had this chaos of dominion funk into order, than learning began again to flourish in the calm of peace. When life and poffeffions were fecure, convenience and enjoyment were foon fought, learning was found the highest gratification of the mind, and tranflation became one of the means by which it was imparted.

At last, by a concurrence of many causes, the European world was roufed from its lethargy; thofe arts which had been long obfcurely ftudied in the gloom of monafteries became the general favourites of mankind; every nation vied with its neighbour for the prize of learning; the epide mical emulation spread from fouth to north, and curiofity and tranflation found their way to Britain.

He that reviews the progrefs of English literature, will find that tranflation was very early cultivated among us, but that fome principles, either wholly erroneous, or too far extended, hindered our fuccefs from being always equal to our diligence.

Chaucer, who is generally confidered as the father of our poetry, has left a verfion of Boetius on the Comforts of Philofophy, the book which feems to have been the favourite of middle ages, which had been tranflated into Saxon by king Alfred, and illuftrated with a copious comment afcribed to Aquinas. It may be supposed that Chaucer would apply more than common attention to an author of fo much celebrity, yet he has attempted nothing higher than a verfion ftrictly literal, and has degraded the poetical parts to profe, that the constraint of verfification might not obftruct his zeal for fidelity.

Caxton taught us typography about the year 1490. The first book printed in English was a tranflation, Caxton was both the tranflator and printer of the Detruccion of Troye, a book which, in that

infancy

infancy of learning, was confidered as the beft account of the fabulous ages, and which, though now driven out of notice by authors of no greater use or value, ftill continued to be read in Caxton's English to the beginning of the prefent century.

Caxton proceeded as he began, and, except the poems of Gower and Chaucer, printed nothing but tranflations from the French, in which the original is fo fcrupulously followed, that they afford us little knowledge of our own language; though the words are English, the phrafe is foreign.

As learning advanced, new works were adopted into our language, but I think with little improvement of the art of tranflation, though foreign nations and other languages offered us models of a better method; till in the age of Elizabeth we began to find that greater liberty was neceffary to elegance, and that elegance was neceffary to general reception; fome effays were then made upon the Italian poets, which deferve the praise and gratitude of pofterity.

But the old practice was not fuddenly forfaken; Holland filled the nation with literal tranflation, and, what is yet more ftrange, the fame exactness was obftinately practifed in the versions of the poets. This abfurd labour of conftruing into rhyme was countenanced by Jonfon, in his verfion of Horace; and, whether it be that more men have learning than genius, or that the endeavours of that time were more directed towards knowledge than delight, the accuracy of Jonfon found more imitators than the elegance of Fairfax; and May, Sandys, and Holiday, confined them felves to the toil of rendering line for line, not indeed with equal felicity, for May and Sandys were poets, and Holiday only a scholar and a critic.

Feltham appears to confider it as the eftablished law of poetical tranflation, that the lines thould be neither more nor fewer

than thofe of the original; and fo long had this prejudice prevailed, that Denham praifes Fanthaw's verfion of Guarini as the example of a "new and noble way," as the first attempt to break the boundaries of cuftom, and affert the natural freedom of the mufe.

In the general emulation of wit and genius which the feflivity of the Reftoration produced, the poets fhook off their conflraint, and confidered tranflation as no longer confined to ferviie clofenefs. But reformation is feldom the work of pure

virtue or unaffifted reafon. Tranflation was improved more by accident than conviction. The writers of the foregoing age had at leaft learning equal to their genius, and, being often more able to explain the fentiments or illuftrate the allufions of the ancients, than to exhibit their graces and transfufe their fpirit, were perhaps willing fometimes to conceal their want of poetry by profufion of literature, and therefore tranflated literally, that their fidelity might fhelter their infipidity or harfhnefs. The wits of Charles's time had feldom more than flight and fuperficial views, and their care was to hide their want of learning behind the colours of a gay imagination; they therefore tranflated always with freedom, fometimes with licentioufnefs, and perhaps expected that their readers should accept fprightlinefs for knowledge, and confider ignorance and mistake as the impatience and negligence of a mind too rapid to ftop at difficulties, and too elevated to defcend to minuteness.

Thus was tranflation made more easy to the writer, and more delightful to the reader; and there is no wonder if ease and pleasure have found their advocates. The paraphraftic liberties have been almost univerfally admitted; and Sherbourn, whofe learning was eminent, and who had no need of any excufe to pafs flightly over obfcurities, is the only writer who, in later times, has attempted to juftify or revive the ancient severity.

There is undoubtedly a mean to be obferved. Dryden faw very early that closenefs beft preferved an author's fenfe, and that freedom beft exhibited his fpirit; he therefore will deferve the highest praise who can give a reprefentation at once faithful and pleafing, who can convey the fame thoughts with the fame graces, and who, when he tranflates, changes nothing but the language. Idler.

96. What Talents are requifite to form a good Tranflator.

After all, a tranflator is to make his author appear as charming as poffibly he can, provided he maintains his character, and makes him not unlike himself. Translation is a kind of drawing after the life; where every one will acknowledge there is a double fort of likenefs, a good one and a bad. "Tis one thing to draw the outlines true, the features like, the proportions exact, the colouring itfelf perhaps tolerable; and another thing to make all thefe grace

3 F 4

fal,

ful, by the pofture, the fhadowings, and chiefly by the fpirit which animates the whole. I cannot without fome indignation look on an ill copy of an excellent original; much less can I behold with patience Virgil, Homer, and fome others, whofe beauties I have been endeavouring all my life to imitate, so abused, as I may fay, to their faces, by a botching interpreter. What English readers, unacquainted with Greek or Latin, will believe me, or any other man, when we commend thofe authors, and confefs we derive all that is pardonable in us from their fountains, if they take thofe to be the fame poets whom our Ogilbys have tranflated? But I dare affure them, that a good poet is no more like himself in a dull translation, than a carcafe would be to his living body. There are many who understand Greek and Latin, and yet are ignorant of their mother tongue. The proprieties and delicacies of the English are known to few: 'tis impoffible even for a good wit to understand and practife them, without the help of a liberal education, long reading, and digefting of thofe few good authors we have amongst us; the knowledge of men and manners; the freedom of habitudes and converfation with the best of company of both fexes; and, in fhort, without wearing off the ruft which he contracted, while he was laying in a flock of learning. Thus difficult it is to understand the purity of English, and critically to difcern not only good writers from bad, and a proper ftyle from a corrupt, but also to distinguish that which is pure in a good author, from that which is vicious and corrupt in him. And for want of all thefe requifites, or the greatest part of them, moft of our ingenious young men take up fome cry'd-up English poet for their model, adore him, and imitate him, as they think, without knowing wherein he is defective, where he is boyish and trifling, wherein either his thoughts are improper to his fubject, or his expreflions unworthy of his thoughts, or the turn of both is unharmonious. Thus it appears neceffary, that a man fhould be a nice critic in his mother-tongue, before he attempts to tranflate a foreign language. Neither is it fufficient that he be able to judge of words and ftyle; but he must be a mafter of them too: he muft perfectly understand his author's tongue, and abfolutely command his own: fo that, to be a thorough tranflator, he must be a thorough poet. Neither is it enough to give his au

And

thor's fenfe in good English, in poetical expreffions, and in mufical numbers: for, though all thofe are exceeding difficult to perform, there yet remains an harder task; and 'tis a fecret of which few tranflators have fufficiently thought. I have already hinted a word or two concerning it; that is, the maintaining the character of an author, which diftinguishes him from all others, and makes him appear that individual poet whom you would interpret. For example, not only the thoughts, but the ftyle and verfification of Virgil and Ovid are very different. Yet I fee even in our beft poets, who have tranflated some parts of them, that they have confounded their feveral talents; and by endeavouring only at the sweetness and harmony of numbers, have made them both fo much alike, that if I did not know the originals, I should never be able to judge by the copies, which was Virgil and which was Ovid. It was objected against a late noble painter (Sir P. Lely) that he drew many graceful pictures, but few of them were alike. this happened to him because he always ftudied himself more than thofe who fat to him. In fuch tranflators I can easily dif tinguish the hand which performed the work, but I cannot diftinguith their poet from another. Suppofe two authors are equally fweet, yet there is a great diftinction to be made in fweetnefs; as in that of fugar and in that of honey. I can make the difference more plain, by giving you (if it be worth knowing) my own method of proceeding in my tranflations out of four feveral poets; Virgil, Theocritus, Lucretius, and Horace. In each of thefe, before I undertook them, I confidered the genius and diftinguishing character of my author. I looked on Virgil as a fuccinct, grave, and majestic writer; one who weighed, not only every thought, but every word and fyllable; who was fill aiming to crowd his fenfe into as narrow a compafs as poffibly he could; for which reafon he is fo very figurative, that he requires (I may almoft fay) a grammar apart to conftrue him. His verfe is every where founding the very thing in your ears whofe fenfe it bears; yet the numbers are perpetually varied, to encrease the delight of the reader; fo that the fame founds are never repeated twice together. On the contrary, Ovid and Claudian, though they write in ftyles differing from each other, yet have each of them but one fort of mufic in their veries. All the verification and little variety of

Claudian