CICERO, the greateft of Roman orators, adapted his style to every fpecies of profe compofition: in his letters he was eafy and familiar; upon fubjects of philofophy and eloquence he enriched the diction, while he enlightened the minds of his countrymen; in the character of a public fpeaker, he gave beauty, pathos, and energy to his native language; he fupplied it with the brighteft ornaments, and infufed into it the united powers of eminent talents and extenfive learning. His copious ftyle refembles the flowing garments that were thrown by the fculptor over the ftatues of the gods, which, far from preffing and confining their bodies, gave free exercife to their limbs, and fuperior gracefulness to their forms". CORNELIUS NEPOS, the friend of Cicero, has fhewn his congenial tafte by the easy and unaffected ftyle, in which he has recorded the lives of eminent perfons of his own country and of Greece. The Commentaries of CESAR are valuable no lefs for accuracy and liveli " Velleius Paterculus, in his encomium on Cicero, defines with elegance and precision the limits of the golden age of Latinity. "Oratio et vis forenfis perfectumque profæ eloquentiæ decus ita fub principe operis fui erupit Tullio, ut delectari ante eum pauciffimis; admirari vero neminem poffis, nifi ab illo vifum; aut qui illum viderit." Lib. i. c. 17. Gravina caught the fame fpirit of elegant obfervation, when he remarked, "Mirum effet fi hunc fcriptorem non haberem eximium, quo nemo eft auctior in eloquentia Latina, et in omui fermonis elegantia locupletior, nemo fplendidior, nemo uberior, nemo in omni eruditione celebrior: nemo denique de quo cum tot laudes fint diffufæ, minus tamen pro illius dignitate fit di&tum," p. 180. De Lat. Linguâ. VOL. I. L nefs nefs of narrative, than for the pureft fimplicity of language. HORACE fuited the colours of his compofition to the nature of his various fubjects: in his Odes, he has fometimes the eafe of Anacreon, and fometimes the fublimity of Pindar. In his ftyle he is more perfpicuous, and in fubjects more varied than the Bard of Thebes. The Prophecy of Nereus, the fpeeches of Juno to the Gods, and of Regulus to the Romans, and the Odes to Melpomene and in praise of a country life are effufions of matchlefs fpirit and beauty". If we recollect that he has written Odes which may difpute the palm with the bards of Greece, Satires full of pleafing raillery, Epiftles which contain the best lectures on men and manners, and an Art of Poetry which is the code of criticifm and refined tafte;-if we obferve his good fenfe, the harmony of his numbers, and the verfatility of his genius; it will furely be admitted that he poffeffed the moft ample powers to inftruct and to delight mankind. Perhaps there is no claffic, who pleases us more, or pleafes us fo long. He has charnıs for perfons of every age: by the young fcholar he is read with delight, and by the old he is rarely forgot *. QVID, CATULLUS, and TIBULLUS, poured forth their poctical effufions in full and clear ftreams of Ode xv. Lib. i. Ode iii. Lib. iii. Ode v. Lib. iii. Ode iii. Lib. iv. * See La Harpe's Lectures at the Lyceum, and Warton's Effay on Pope, vol. i. p. 397. defcription. defcription. PHEDRUS, by his neat and expreffive verfification of the Fables of Efop, proved that Iambic measure was fuited to the genius of the Latin tongue. LIVY gave the most finished graces to historical compofition; and it is difficult to determine whether he most excels in the clearness of his defcriptions, or the appropriate eloquence of his fpeeches. Learning has fuftained an irreparable injury in the lofs of the concluding, and the most interefting part of his work, which related to the civil wars of Cæfar with Pompey, and of Antony and Octavius with Brutus and Caffius, fubjects which admitted the most advantageous difplay of his talents for hiftorical painting, and fhewed his zeal for truth, and his ardour in the cause of the republic; an ardour the more honourable for him to avow, as at the time he wrote he was favoured with the smiles of Auguftus. The moralizing prefaces of SALLUST to his accounts of the confpiracy of Cataline, and the Jugurthine war, are inftructive; and many of his defcriptions are ftrong and lively, particularly that of the death of Cataline; and yet, by his affectation of concife and obfolete expreffions, he difcovered figns of the approaching extinction of claffical purity of ftile'. The "How cometh it to pafs, that Cæfar and Cicero's talk is fo natural and plain, and Salluft's writing fo artificial and dark, when all the three lived at one time? I will freely tell you my fancy herein. Surely Cæfar and Cicero, befide a fingular prerogative of natural eloquence given unto them by God; both two, by ufe of life, were daily orators among the common people, and greatest counsellors in the fenate-houfe; and there The high reputation acquired by thefe writers, whose praise has been the favourite theme of every polished age, refults from combining in their works the genuine beauties of elegant compofition. However they may differ in the direction of their talents, the nature of their fubjects, and the ftyle of their productions, there is ftill a congenial tafte confpicuous in all their writings, which are marked by fuch perfpicuous and elegant language, and animated by fuch propriety and vigour of thought, as can only be well underftood and fully relifhed by frequent perufal and attentive obfervation; and the extreme difficulty of reaching the ftandard of excellence, which they have erected, is fufficiently manifeft from the small number of modern writers, who have imitated them with any confiderable degree of fuccefs. To fore gave themselves to ufe fuch fpeeches as the meanest should well understand, and the wifeft beft allow following carefully that good counfel of Ariftotle, Loquendum ut multi, fapiendum ut pauci." Afcham's School mafter, p. 339. z Strictior Calvus, numerofior Afinius, fplendidior Cæfar, amarior Cælius, gravior, Brutus, vehementior et plenior et valentior Cicero; omnes tamen eandem fanitatem eloquentiæ ferunt, ut fi omnium pariter libros in manum fumferis, fcias, quamvis in diverfis ingeniis, effe quandam judicii et voluntatis fimilitudinem et cognationem. Dialog. de Oratoribus, c. xxv. The engaging gracefulness of the Sulpicia of Tibullus, apparent in all her actions, her drefs, and whole demeanour, correfponds with the native beauty of the claffics, diverfified by so many forms, and under every appearance inexpreffibly beautiful and captivating. To follow the fteps of Grecian authors was the general practice of the Romans. Each of them found fome predeceffor who had led the way to the fields of invention, and was therefore adopted as the inftructor of his inexperienced genius, and his guide to eminence and fame. The affistance which Homer, Hefiod, and the tragedians, afforded to Virgil, was fimilar to that which in other branches of compofition Pindar, Archilochus, Alcæus, and Sappho gave to Horace; Menander to Terence; Plato and Demofthenes to Cicero; Polybius to Illam quicquid agit, quoquo veftigia flectit, Componit furtim, fubfequiturque decor; Seu folvit crines; fufis decet effe capillis; Seu comfit, comtis eft veneranda comis. Urit, feu Tyria voluit procedere palla, Urit, feu nivea candida vefte venit. Talis, in æterno felix Vertumnus Olympo, Mille habet ornatus, mille decenter habet. Tibull. lib. iv. carm. 2. ed. Heyne Whate'er Sulpicia does, where'er the roves, If float her carelefs treffes in the winds, Livy ; |