Your anchor's loft, you've fprung a leak; A cub that knows not ftem from stern, In vain you fport your threadbare joke, Q. HORAT. FLAC. CARM. LIB. I. ODE XIV. Nudum remigio latus? Et malus celeri faucius Africo, Poffint imperiofius Equor? Non tibi funt integra lintea; Silvæ filia nobilis Iactes et genus, et nomen inutile. Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus Fidit-Tu nifi ventis Debes ludibrium, cave. Nuper follicitum quæ mihi tædium; Nun Nunc defiderium, curaque non levis, Vités æquora Cycladas! MR. EDITOR 9 - UNDERSTANDING that my faft translation of an Ode of Horace did not displease the best judges, I have taken the liberty to fend you a fecond attempt, which I fubmit to your candour. It may feem matter of wonder to you, as it does to me, that neither Quintilian, nor Will Baxter, nor any other hunter of allegories, fhould find out the real drift of this Ode, which is fo very eafy to be difcovered. The cafe, in fhort, is as follows. Auguftus, in the midft of peace and tranquillity, felt, or feigned, an alarm, on account of fome books written by perfons fufpected of an attachment to the party of Cato and Brutus, and recommending republican principles. Now, Horace having been a colonel in Brutus's army, and being rather too free in profeffing his religious fentiments, naturally paffed for an atheist and a republican. Auguftus published an edict to tell his fubjects how happy they all were, in fpite of the fuggeftions of malcontents; commanding them to stick close to their old religions; and threatening, that whoever was not active in affifting the government, fhould be treated as an enemy to church and ftate. Upon this occafion Horace read-or affected to read, for I will not take my oath to his fincerity-a recantation. In one part of the Ode he fays "Jupiter, who generally thunders and lightens in cloudy weather, now has driven his chariot through the ferene air." This is fo plain an emblem of Au This Letter and Tranflation allude, with great delicacy, ingenuity, and fineffe, to the vifionary alarm about republican principles, raised at the beginning of the prefent war. guftus guftus fulminating his cenfures in a time of perfect tranquillity, that it needs no farther comment. Our author refers to this circumftance again, CARM, vii. 5. "Coelo tonantem credidimus Jovem regnare: præfens Divus habebitur Auguftus"—" We have believed that Jupiter reigns thundering from heaven: Auguftus fhall be efteemed a prefent God." In another place he exprefly calls Auguftus Jupiter-EPIST. i. 19 -43. "Rides ait, et Jovis auribus ifta fervas". "You joke," fays he," and reserve your verfes for the ear of Jove." For all fovereigns, while they are in power, are compared to the Sovereign of the Gods, however weak, wicked, or worthlefs they may ber Nihil eft quod credere de fe, Non poffit, cum laudatur Dis æque potentas. I muft, not forget to add, that this edict of the Emperor was followed by numerous addreffes from large bodies of the men who were once called Romans, allowing the reality of the plots, lamenting the decay of piety, and promifing to refift all innovation, and to defend his facred Cæfarean Majefty with their lives and fortunes. NORACE, BOOK I. ODE XXXIV. TILL now I held free-thinking notions, Jove feldom lets his lightnings fly, And And flash'd in fuch a perfect calin, From concave fhores made replication *. 1 fee what power your Gods can fhew, Thus Fortune's gifts fome lofe, fome gain, HORAT. LIB. I. ODE, XXXIV. PARCUS deorum cultor et infrequens Confultus err, nunc rétrorfum Mutare et infignem attenuat Deus, Suftulit: hic pofuiffe gaudet. *Shakespear's Julius Cæfar, A& I. Scene I. THE THE EMBASSY TO CHINA *. [From the Gazetteer.] THE jealoufy of the Chinese, who, judging from the example of India, might fufpect that the mer cantile establishments which we asked for, were meant as the first step to an affumption of power and territory, that might enable us to give them the law in their own dominions; this jealoufy, added to fundry other grave reafons of ftate, is generally fuppofed to have occafioned the failure of the magnificent embaffy we fent across the Indian feas. That these reasons would have had due weight with the wary Chinese, and that they might have baffled all. the skill of the most artful negotiator, is highly probable; but the abrupt termination of the treaty is faid to be owing to another caufe ;' to a caufe fo curious, that to obtain belief it was neceflary that the information fhould be seriously given, as it really was, by officers who left China in the fleet under convoy of the Lion. It feeins, that the fagacious perfons who were empowered to make a felection of proper prefents for the mighty Emperor of China, wifhing to give fomething to utility, as well as to fhew, included among the fpecimens of the ingenuity of our artists, a newly invented cabinet d'aifance, in plain English, a patent water-clofet. It is not easy to determine by conjecture, whether the Interpreter of the folemn embaffy explained by words the construction of this curious machine, or whether one of the Ambaffador's retinue was appointed to demonstrate its purpose by appropriate action. As foon, however, as the nature of it was known, nothing could equal the horror and difguft of the Mandarins of The ludicrous circumftance that gave rife to this Jeu d'Efprit was ftrongly affirmed to be a fact by several of the Eaft India Company's officers. State. |