phaly, with the assistance of three e, Rother grund,' or 'Himmelsfree knights, who acted as wit-strich,' or 'Himmels-gegend,' be nesses. The real signification of came its most forcible and current the term red soil, and the reason name, from a noble family, which why it was applied to Westphaly, was successively subject to the has not yet been traced out; but barbarity of those bloodhounds. during my stay in that country, I When any of its descendants haplearnt the following particulars pened to ask what had become of concerning it, which seemed to their ancestors, they were geneme most probable. They in- rally answered with the nickname, formed me, that the terms red soil They have wandered to the Red were used as a nickname, to di-il, i. e. to the Soil that is stained stinguish the Westphalian country, with blood. For red signifies in in which this abominable bloody German not only roth, but also tribunal had been first established, blood-red; and soil signifies erde. from those milder ones of the same Thus blutrothe erde,' blood-red kind in Germany. For Red soil, soil." and a crowd of Moslems is less conclusive, from their ignorance ' of Christian literature.' the volumes of paper or parch-The silence of Abulfeda, Murtadi, 'ment were distributed to the four thousand baths; and such was 'their incredible multitude, that six months were barely sufficient for the consumption of this precious fuel. Since the Dynasties of Abulpharagius have been given to the world in a Latin version, the tale has been repeatedly transcribed; and every scholar, with pious indignation, has deplored the irreparable shipwreck of the learning, the arts, and the genius, of antiquity. For my own part, I am strongly tempted to deny both the fact and its consequences. The fact is indeed ' marvellous; "Read and wonder!" says the historian himself.' Edit. 4to, vol. v. p. 343. "This anecdote,' subjoins Mr. Gibbon in a note on this passage, "But first, we may ask, is the story of Abulpharajus itself correctly reported by Mr. Gibbon? Surely it is an unfair inference, which he has made from the historian's words, that all the four thousand baths of the city were supplied with these books for fuel. Their distribution amongst any number of the baths would justify the expression of Abulpharajus, and the meaning which I would affix to it. He does not say, that six months were barely sufficient for the consumption: this is a false comment upon a mistaken text. The Arabic historian says nothing like it; he simply relates the fact, that in half a year the books were entirely entirely consumed: but how many in the Arabic, but omitted in the baths were employed in their de- Syriac. Instances of this kind are struction, he neither says nor in- numerous; and every general sinuates. The incredible multi- scholar may judge for himself, as tude of the volumes, therefore, both the histories in the original vanishes at once. If during the languages, together with the Latin whole time which elapsed, whilst translations, are before the public. these precious monuments of anti- I trust, therefore, that we shall hear quity were gradually consuming, no more of the objection urged no sentiment of remorse or com- by Mr. Gibbon, that the solitary punction arose in the breasts of the report of a stranger, who wrote conquerors, no wish to rescue the at the end of six hundred years on still remaining treasures of this in- 'the confines of Media, is overestimable library from further balanced by the silence of two ravage and destruction, well mightannalists of a more early date, Abulpharajus exclaim, Hear and both Christians, both natives of wonder! Hear and wonder at Egypt, and the most ancient of the brutal ignorance and unrelent-whom, the patriarch Eutychius, ing fury of the barbarians! Secondly, even if I should grant to Mr. Gibbon, that we have only the evidence of Abulpharajus for the general fact, I see no ground for rational scepticism with regard to its reality. I will concede even more; I will allow that Abulpharajus himself does not mention the circumstance in his Syriac Universal History, though he generally describes the period when it happened. They both contain in general the same narrative, but with occasional additions and omissions, as appeared to the author most interesting to the class of readers for whom he was writing. Thus many particulars concerning the siege and capture of Acca, with the various messages which passed betwixt our lion-hearted Richard and his generous rival Saladin, are given at large in the Syriac, but entirely passed over in the Arabic: on the contrary, the request of Philoponus, and the burning of the Alexandrian library, are given has amply described the conquest ' of Alexandria.' "If Abulpharajus himself, in his Syriac Universal History, has both given the life of Omar and noticed the capture of Alexandria, and yet omitted mentioning the burning of the library, and even the very name of Philoponus, why might not the two annalists do the same? "The high literary as well as ecclesiastical rank of this illustrious primate of the East, and the numerous concurrent testimonies, as well of Mahometans as Christians, to the gravity and sanctity of his character, would, in my opinion, even if he were found to stand single in his testimony, more than overbalance the frivolous cavils of Mr. Gibbon. "But further, to the negative argument of Mr. Gibbon I shall venture to oppose the positive testimony of two Arabic historians, both writers of unquestionable authority, and both orthodox professors of the Musulman faith, "The two Universal Histories of Abulpharajus, written in the Syriac and Arabic languages." Macrisi Macrisi and Abdollatif; who not only agree in stating the fact, the burning of the library, but also point out to us the exact spot on which the library stood. For after describing the column, commonly called Pompey's Pillar, and mentioning the adjacent ruins of some ancient edifice, they add, that there was the library which Amru Ebn El Aas burnt by the 'command of the khalif Omar.' I conclude, therefore, that both the burning, or, more strictly speaking, the despoiling, of the library by Amru, and its actual situation, are indisputably ascertained. "A satisfactory answer having now, I hope, been given to the sceptical insinuation of Mr. Gibbon, I advance a step further. As the library despoiled by Amru was a royal library, and as the first Ptolemæan library was unfortunate ly burnt by Julius Caesar, this must necessarily have been the second Ptolemæan library; and consequently part of the temple of Sera pis. We have at length, then, by the assistance of Arabic writers, unexpectedly discovered the site of the Serapeum; a discovery eagerly sought for by the curious for more than a century: and hence arises one strong proof, that a knowledge of Arabic may be made peculiarly subservient to the illustration of Egyptian antiquities. "But are there no passages, it may be asked, in Greek or Latin authors, which corroborate the evidence of Arabic writers respecting the site of the Serapeum? I answer, that certainly there are; though their meaning has hitherto been wholly overlooked, and perhaps would for ever have been lost in obscurity, had not a ray of light broken in from the East. Such, however, is the accumulated force of these passages, when properly considered, as to leave no room to doubt that the temple of Serapis was contiguous to what is commonly called the Pillar of Pompey." REMARKS On the REIGN of ELIZABETH. [From ELLIS'S SPECIMENS of the Early ENGLISH POETS.] "TH HE poctical history of this important reign, which occupies near a century in our annals, could not easily be comprised in a moderate volume. Epic and didactic poems, satires, plays, maskes, translations from the Greek, Latin, and all the modern languages, historical legends, devotional poems, pastoral sonnets, madrigals, acros tics, and humourous and romantic ballads, were produced during this period, with a profusion which, perhaps, has never since been equalled. No less than seventyfour poets are assigned to the reign of Elizabeth in the new edition of the Theatrum Poetarum,' and the catalogue might certainly be much further extended. "Abulpharajus affirms, that the books were ordered to be distributed amongst the baths, and used as fuel for heating them. It being then explícitly stated, that they were not burnt in the library, we may fairly infer, that the edifice itself, that is, its walls, rooms, and colonnades, remained after the books were committed to the flames." M 1801. " It "It is true, that, of these claimants to immortality, the far greater number have been very generally consigned to oblivion; a few, such as Drayton, Fairfax, Warner, sir John Harrington, sir Philip Sidney, sir Walter Raleigh, &c., continue to be cited, in deference to their ancient reputation; but Shakspeare, Jonson, Fletcher, Spenser, and sir John Davis, are still confessed to be unrivalled in their several styles of composition, although near two centuries have elapsed, during which the progress of literature and the improvement of our language have been constant and uninterrupted. "The literary splendour of this reign may be justly attributed to the effects of the Reformation. When the corruptions and impostures of popery were abolished,' says Mr. Warton, the laity, who had now been taught to assert their natural privileges, became impatient of the old monopoly of knowledge, and demanded admission to the usurpations of the clergy. The general curiosity for new discoveries, heightened either by just or imaginary ideas of the treasures contained in the Greek and Roman writers, excited all persons of leisure and fortune to study the classics. The pedantry of the present age was the politeness of the last. Of this pedantry he adduces a curious instance in the occupations of queen Elizabeth, whose marvellous progress in the Greek nouns is recorded with rapture by her preceptor Roger Ascham; and he might have found many similar examples in Anne Bullen, and other distinguished characters. But these efforts of patience and industry in the great, were perhaps necessary to encourage and preserve the general emulation of the learned. In a short time, all the treasures of Greek, Latin, and Italian literature were laid open to the public, through the medium of translation, The former supplied our poetry with an inexhaustible fund of new and beautiful allusions; the latter afforded numberless stories taken from common life, in which variety of incident and ingenuity of contrivance were happily united. The genius which was destined to combine this mass of materials, could not fail to be called forth by the patronage of the court, by the incentive of general applause, and by the hopes of raising the literary glory of our nation to a level with that which was the result of its political and military triumphs. "It must also be remembered that the English language was, at this time, much more copious, and consequently better adapted to poetry, than at any prior or subsequent period. Our vocabulary was enriched, during the first half of the sixteenth century, by almost daily adoptions from the learned languages; and though they were often admitted without necessity, and only in consequence of a blind veneration for the dignity of polysyllables, they must have added something to the expression, as well as to the harmony and variety of our language. These exotics however did not occasion the expulsion of the natives. Our vulgar tongue having become the vehicle of religion, was regarded, not only with national partiality, but with pious reverence. Chaucer, who was supposed to have greatly assisted the doctrines of his contemporary, Wickliffe, by ridiculing the absurdities, and exposing the impostures of the monks, was not only respected as the father of Eng lish poetry, but revered as a champion of reformation: and a familiar knowledge of his phraseology was considered, at least in the reign of Edward VI. as essential to the politeness of a courtier. I know them,' says Wilson, in his Rhetorick, that think rhetorick to stand wholly upon dark words: and he that can catch an inkhorn term by the tail, him they count to be a fine Englishman and a good rhe⚫torician. He that cometh lately out of France will talk FrenchEnglish, and never blush at the ' matter. Another chops in with English Italianated. The fine courtier will talk nothing but Chau<cer.' This, by the way, may serve to explain the cause of Spenser's predilection for a phraseology, which, though antiquated, was not either obsolete or unfashionable. in its infancy: this was the age of adventure and experiment, undertaken for the instruction of posterity. Mr. Warton thinks he sees in the writers of this reign a cer'tain dignified inattention to nice'ties,' and to this he attributes the flowing modulation which now marked the measures of our poets:' but there seems to be neither dignity nor inattention in deviating from rules which had never been laid down: and the modulation, which he ascribes to this cause, is not less likely to have resulted from the musical studies, which at this time formed a part of general education. The lyrical compositions of this time are so far from being usually marked with a faulty negligence, that excess of ornament, and laboured affectation, are their characteristic blemishes. Such as are free from conceit and antithesis, are, in general, exquisitely polished, and may safely be compared with the most elegant and finished specimens of modern poetry." |