Page:The Annual Register 1758.djvu/480

 466 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1758.

heteiodcxy, impiety, and blafphe- niy, by men whcfc forehead was a rock, and whofc tongue was a ra- zor. To be mifreprefented, as a pedant and a dunce, this is no ^reat matter; for time and truth put folly to flight : to be accufed of herefy by bigots, hypocritci, politicians, and iniideis, this is a icrious affair; as they know too weilj who have had the misfortune to feel the effcfts of it.

The celebrated Peter Ramus never replied to the inveftives of his numerous adverfaries: and the writer of his life mentions it as an inflance of his uacoainion patience and prudence

The Ayle of Erafmus is that of a man who had a flrong memory, a natural eloquence, lively fitncy, and a ready invention, who com- pofed with great facility and ra- pidity, and who did not care for the trouble of revifing and correft- ing; who had fpent all his days in reading, writing, and talking Latin ; for he feeras to have had no turn for modern languages, and perhaps he had almoft forgotten his mother tongue. His ftyle there- fore is always unatFe^led, eafy, co- pious, fluent, and clear; but not always perfectly pure and Ibiclly claflical. He hath been cenfured, as a dealer in barbarifms, by perfons who not only had not half of his abilities and erudition, but who did not even write Latin half fo well as he.

His verfes are plainly the com- pofitions of one, who had much learning and good fenfe, and who underfiood prolbdy, or the techni- cal art of poetry; but who had not an equal elegance of tafte, and an ear for poetical numbers. So that upon the whole he is rather a terfifier than a poet, and is col to I

be ranked amongll the Italian poetj of thofedavs, Sannazarius, Fr;tcaf- torius, Vida, &c. many of whom write better than any of the an- cients, except Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, and a few more.

Erafmus ufed to dine late, that he might have a long morninp to fludy in. After dinner he would converfe chearfully with his friends about all forts of fubjecls, and de- liver his opinions very freely upon men and things. So fays Mili- chius, who was a fludent at Fri- burg, and there had the pleafure of being well acquainted with Erafmus.

Erafmus, in the earlier part of his life, carefully fludied the Greek and Latin grammar, read ledures upon them, and tranflated Greek becks into Latin. This was laying a right foundation forcriticifm and philology ; and it is much to be wiflied, that our young ftudents of promifing abilities would, in fome meafure, follow his example. Be you ever fo ingenious and induf- trious, yet if you negleft to cul- tivate and preferve this humble part of knowledge, you will be perpetually tumbling, when you tread en clafiic ground, when you attempt to explain, to tranflate, or to correal ancient authors, or to difcufs any learned fubjeft, or to compofe a few pages in Latin in prof'', or in verfe. Then be- ware of blunders; and think not to make amends for them by infulting and ridiculing grammarians, fcho- liafls, commentators, lexicogra- phers, verbal critics, word-catchers, fyllable-mongers, and poachers in Stob-^us and Suidas.


 * It is a wonder that no book-


 * feller could be found who would


 * venture to print the commentary


 * of Meziriac upon ApoUodorus.

♦ The