A Message from the President of the U. S. transmitting copies of all orders and decrees of the belligerent powers of Europe, affecting the commercial rights of the U. S. passed since 1791. Dec. 28, 1808. Printed by order of the Senate. Washington City; R. C. Weightman. pp. 123. 8vo.

Exposition of the practices and machinations which led to the usurpation of the crown of Spain, and the means adopted by Bonaparte to carry it into execution. By Don Pedro Cevallos, first Secretary of State and Despatches to his Catholick Majesty Ferdinand VII. Translated from the Spanish. New York; E. Sargeant. pp. 47. 8vo. Dec. 1808.

*An Exact and Impartial Account of the most Important Events which have occurred in Aranjuez, Madrid, and Bayonne; from the 17th of March until the 15th of May, 1808; treating of the fall of the Prince of Peace, and of the termination of the friendship and alliance between the French and Spanish nations. Written in Spanish, published in Cadiz, and translated in this city. New York; E. Sargeant. pp. 46. 8vo. Dec. 1808.

An Examination of the Constitutionality of the Embargo Laws: comprising a view of the arguments on that question, before the Hon. John Davis, Esq. Judge of the District Court for Massachusetts, in the case of the U. S. vs. Brigantine William. Tried and determined at Salem, Mass. September term, 1808. By Francis Blake, counsellor at law. To which is added, the Opinion pronounced by the court, on the constitutional question arising in the trial of the case. Worcester; Goulding and Stow, 1808. pp. 61. 8vo.

A Message from the President of the U. S. communicating certain letters which passed between the British Secretary of State, Mr. Canning, and Mr. Pinckney. Jan. 17, 1809. Published by order of the Senate. Washington City; R. C. Weightman. pp. 31 8vo.

A Discourse, delivered before the Society for propagating the Gospel among the Indians and others in North America, at their anniversary meeting in Boston, November 3, 1808. By Abiel Holmes, D. D. minister of the first church in Cambridge. Boston; published by Farrand, Mallory and Co. Suffolk buildings, State Street. Belcher and Armstrong, printers. 1808. pp. 68. 8vo. ⚫ Two Sermons, delivered in the Presbyterian church in the city of Albany, on Thursday, Sept. 8th, 1808; being the day recommended by the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States, for fasting, humiliation and prayer. By John B. Romeyn, A. M. Albany; published by Backus and Whiting, No. 45, State Street. William Tucker, printer. 1808. pp. 80. 8vo. *A Sermon, preached at the church in Brattle Street, Boston, December 18th, 1808, the Lord's day after the publick funeral of his Excellency James Sullivan, Governour of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. By Joseph S. Buckminster, minister of the society in Brattle Street. Boston; J. Beleher, printer, State Street. 1809. pp. 41. 8vo. Price 25 cents.

Theological Tracts, No. 1. containing Zollikoffer's seven sermons on the Reformation. Boston; William Wells, No. 6, Court Street. pp. 93. 8vo. Price 50 cents.

The Witness, No. 1. January, 1809. Published monthly. Boston; printed and sold by Manning and Loring, No. 2, Cornhill. pp. 48. 12mo.

The Christian's Magazine, designed, &c. No. 3, of Vol. II. New-York; printed by J. Seymour, 1808. From page 264 to page 365. 8vo.

A Sermon, illustrating the will of God respecting the salvation of all men. By Jacob Norton, A. M. pastor of the first church in Weymouth. Boston: published by Lincoln and Edmunds, No. 43, Cornhill pp. - 8vo. Price 20

cents.

A Sermon, delivered Nov. 26, 1808, at the interment of the Rev. Thomas Cary, senior pastor of the first religious society in Newburyport. By John Andrews, surviving pastor. Newburyport; Edward Little. Dec. 1808. pp. A Sermon, delivered on the day of Publick Thanksgiving in the state of Massachusetts, Dec. 1, 1808. By John Lathrop, D. D. minister of the second church in Boston. Boston; Munroe, Francis and Parker. Dec. 1808. pp.→ A Sermon, preached at Trinity Church in Boston, on the day appointed for Publick Thanksgiving throughout the state of Massachusetts, Dec. 1, 1808. By J. S. J. Gardiner, A. M. rector of the church. Boston; Munroe, Francis and Parker, No. 4, Cornhill. pp. 23. 8vo. Dec. 1808.

NEW EDITIONS.

Sermons on several subjects, by the late Rev. William Paley, D. D. sub dean of Lincoln, prebendary of St. Paul's, and rector of Bishopwearmouth. Boston Farrand, Mallory and Co. Price $1 87 1-3. 1808.

* Select Reviews, No. I. of Vol. I. and Spirit of the Foreign Magazines, for January, 1809. By E. Bronson and others. Philadelphia; Hopkins and Earle. pp. 72. 8vo. Price 5 dollars per annum.

A system of Theoretical and Practical Chymistry. By Frederick Accum, operative chymist, &c. &c. late of the royal institution of Great Britain. Philadelphia; Hopkins and Earle. 1808.

The Anatomy of the Gravid Uterus, with practical references relative to pregnancy and labour. By John Burns, surgeon in Glasgow. Salem; Cushing and Appleton. 1808.

The Works of Mrs. Anne Steele, complete, in 2 vols. comprehending Poems on subjects chiefly devotional, &c. Boston; Munroe, Francis and Parker. 2 vols. 8vo. 1808.

The Cottagers of Glenburnie; a Tale for the Farmer's Fireside; by Elizabeth Hamilton, author of the Elementary Principles of Education, &c. New York; Ezra Sargeant. Dec. 1808. Price 1 dollar.

Lindley Murray's English Grammar; from the sixteenth English edition, improved by the author. New York; Collins and Perkins. Jan. 1809. Price

75 cents.

Lindley Murray's English Grammar abridged, with an appendix; from the nineteenth English edition, corrected by the author. Published as above. Price 25 cents.

IN PRESS.

1. Riley will soon publish Sheppard's Touchstone. 2 vols. royal 8vo. printed page for page with the last London edition. To this edition will be added, all the statutes of the several states relating to the subjects discussed in that work, together with the statutes of each state in the union, on the following heads, to wit.

1. Statutes respecting the levying of Fines, and suffering common Recoveries. 2. Statutes relative to Deeds, and the manner of recording the same.

5. Statutes with reference to Deeds made to defraud creditors.

4. Statutes as to Warranties lineal or collateral, and their binding effects. 5. Statutes relative to Feoffinents.

6. Statutes relative to Attornments. 7. Statutes relative to Leases.

8. Statutes regulating last Wills and Testaments.

9. Statutes regulating Uses.

Edited by John Anthon, Esq. counsellor at law.

Also, Noys' Maxims, 1 vol. 12mo. printed as above.

WORKS PROPOSED.

I. Riley is preparing for the press, a Treatise on Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes; by George Caines, Esq.

Reports of Cases argued and determined at Nisi Prius in the city of New York; by John Anthon, Esq.

Jacobs' Law Dictionary improved. 5 vols. royal 8vo.

Digest of the Laws of New York. 1 vol. royal 8vo.
Digest of all the American Reporters.

Day's Reports in the Supreme Court of Errours and Circuit Court of the U. States for the district of Connecticut.

It is notified to the publick, by Mr. Hall, of Baltimore, editor of the American Law Journal, that a translation of Pothier's Treatise on Insurance on Bottomry and Respondentia is preparing for the press, which will be accompanied by notes, referring to English and American cases on the different points treated of by Pothier, together with an appendix of useful forms. Mr. H. also says, that a translation of Pothier's Treatises on Averages and Charter Partics is in a state of forwardness.

Farrand, Mallory and Co. propose to print, by subscription, Milner's History of the Church of Christ, in 4 vols. of about 600 pages each, at $1 75 per vol. in beards, to subscribers. The first volume is now in the press.

William Allen, A. M. proposes to publish, by subscription, in one vol. 8vo. 500 pp. an American Biographical and Historical Dictionary. Price to subscribers, in boards, 2 50.

Russell and Cutler propose to publish, at 25 cents per No. to subscribers, a new and interesting work, to be called the Political Telescope.

THESE essays would be enlarged much beyond the length which is intended, were I to attempt analysis of the several original authors that fall under consideration; an estimate of the comparative excellence of the different works of the same writer; an examination of his claims to the praise of invention, or an exposure of his imitations; and a parallel between authors whose productions are similar in kind. Any thing of this nature, therefore, when offered, must be considered as offered gratuitously, and be received for what it is worth; and, as it will certainly be superficial, it must be remembered, that it was not intended to be profound.

No ancient classick has, probably, been so much read as Virgil ; and Ovid might have extended his prediction in my motto to the duration of the world, with more propriety than merely to that of Roman grandeur. Virgil wrote at a period, when the language in which his works are composed was in its highest state of purity and refinement. He was stimulated by the most influential of all excitements, the praise of the great and powerful; not excepting his sovereign, whose commendation he repaid by incorporating his character with that of the hero of his principal poem. Under imperial patronage, and removed far above the cravings of poverty, he rose from pastoral to georgick, from georgick to epick verse; and left nothing imperfect which he lived long enough to finish.

For an account of the works ascribed to Virgil, the genuineness of which is in dispute, his editors, Burman and Heyné, may be consulted; where the most important authorities are cited. English translations have been made chiefly from the Bucolicks, the Georgicks, and the Eneid; which are the only poems of Virgil printed in the Delphin and other editions intended for common use.

The occasion of the first Eclogue, I shall relate in the words of Dryden: "When Augustus had settled himself in the Roman

empire, that he might reward his veteran troops for their past service, he distributed among them all the lands that lay about Cremona and Mantua; turning out the right owners for having sided with his enemies. Virgil was a sufferer among the rest; who afterwards recovered his estate by Maecenas' intercession; and, as an instance of his gratitude, composed the first pastoral, where he sets out his own good fortune in the person of Tytyrus, and the calamities of his Mantuan neighbours in the character of Meliboeus."

The pastorals of Virgil have no small share of the simplicity of the Idyls of Theocritus, without their indelicacy, and contain as much of pastoral life, with fewer incongruities in the character of the persons introduced.

The Georgicks have frequently been pronounced the most finished poem in the Latin language. From the subjects of which they treat, they are sometimes necessarily uninteresting, especially to those who are wholly ignorant of agricultural pursuits. But, in the humblest precepts of this didactick poem, the author has not descended from his dignified manner; and, as Addison remarks, "He even breaks the clods, and tosses the dung about with an air of gracefulness." There is intrinsick evidence to all who are conversant with the Latin poets, that the Georgicks are very elaborate productions; it is well known, too, that the author was not sparing of the labor limue. And, though some criticks have taken the side of Theocritus against Virgil in pastoral poetry, none, it is believed, have contended for the superiority of Hesiod in Georgick.

The Eneid, which, had the order of Virgil been obeyed, would have been consigned to the flames, because it had not received his last corrections, is the poem that, in the opinions of most criticks, confers upon him the glory of being first among the poets of Rome. The only deduction from this glory, and one which has made many wavering in their praise, is, the charge of his having closely imitated Homer. It has been maintained, that he not only found a model of epick story in the Iliad and Odyssey, but that he even borrowed from them many of his finest sentiments and figures of thought. Mixed with a degree of illiberality, there is some truth in these allegations. But the question is, whether they apply so far as to exclude him from the number of original poets; whether the fable, the character of his heroes and subordinate agents, the machinery of his poem, the disposition of his story, the introduction of his episodes, and, in general, the sentiment and expressions, are not so substantially his own, as to entitle him to a place among those who are allowed the credit of invention. If invention, in its strictest sense, be required to confer on a poet the praise of originality, it will be difficult to determine who can claim it. Can it be declared, that the fables of the gods and of the heroes, and indeed the entire subject of the poems of Homer, were not so common in his time, that the poet had little to do but to dispose of them in such an order as to make a beautiful whole? Yet if all this were true, who would be willing to call Homer a mere compiler of stories, which, in songs and recitations, formed the sentimental entertainments of his countrymen in the age in which he lived. He may

be called an original poet, who has a style and character of his own; and a liberal critick, when he has discovered these marks of originality, will rather rest satisfied with his convictions, than force apparent resemblances into palpable imitations, or magnify such as are real.

I shall institute no comparison of the Iliad and Odyssey, with the Eneid of Virgil; nor dwell on the beauties or defects of the latter. I shall here only remark, that Virgil has been accused by Macrobius in his Saturnalia of ignorance of the pagan theology, and by others of voluntary anachronisms, of topographical and historical errors, and of occasional mistakes in the technical parts of military and naval affairs. It is, however, a justification in part, that he made an indiscriminate use of fable and of fact, and is not to be judged by the same rules, as would be applied to the professed writers of history.*

The first attempt to translate the Eneid of Virgil into English, was that of Caxton, who performed his work through the medium of a French translation, and published it in the year 1490; of which the bishop of Dunkeld, Gawin Douglas, speaks thus ;

Thoch Wylliame Caxtonn had no compationn
Of Virgill in that buk he preynt in prois;

Clepand it Virgill in Eneados,

Quhilk that he sayis of Frensche he did translait ;
It has nothing ado therewith, God wate,

Nor na mare like than the devil and Sainct Austin,
Have he na thank tharefore, bot lois his pyne;
So schamefully the storie did perverte,

I reid his werk with havnes at my hert.

His buk is na mare like Virgill dar I say,

Than the nygt oule resemblis the papingay.

The next translation (for I pass over those select portions, which different writers have chosen to render into English) is that of Douglas. The title page runs thus:

"The thirteen bukes of Eneados (including, therefore, the additional book of Mapheus Veggius) of the famose poete Virgill, translatet out of Latyne verse into Scottish metir, bi the reverend father in God, Mayster Gawin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkil, and unkill to the erle of Angus. 4to. Lond. 1553."

This edition was corrected and reprinted with a Glossary in 1710. From the translation of Douglas, Home Tooke has made liberal quotations to exemplify the meaning and use of certain particles; but most of my readers would not thank me for selections from an author, whose lines, from the changes in our language, have become harsh in construction, and difficult of comprehension.

Another version of the Eneid was published in 1632, by John Vicars; a version which seems never to have excited interest enough to call forth either praise or censure. Were all the versions of detached portions of Virgil and of single books to be

They who wish to read the criticks on Virgil, may consult Rapin, Bossu, Segrais, &c. among the French, whose opinions are comprised in Baillet's Jugemens de Savans; and Addison on the Georgicks, and Dryden on the pastorals and Eneid in English.