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did; and, what is beyond comparison the highest of all possible stimulants, he saw and felt that he was doing at the time. He tells us so, or rather he told them so at the moment. Secure of this point, but not satisfied, and not permitting the advantage gained to be even a stage and resting-place in his lofty career ;--animated by success, and conscious of his strength,-in the midst of universal inflammation-of his audience and of himself, he proceeded to deliver that victorious and triumphant passage, which contributed, doubtless, largely to the deliverance of his client, and will remain an everlasting monument of his own glory, whilst the name of England and its language shall endure.'What' we can only add with schines, what if we had heard him?'

Large, however, and ample as have been our commendations of this celebrated oration, we cannot conclude (though at the utmost verge of our limits) without observing that no speaker has approached so nearly, in general resemblance and manner, to Demosthenes, as Mr Fox. No politician, we believe, and few scholars, understood and admired the old master more perfectly. Many striking properties and qualities were the same in both. -A certain sincerity and open-heartedness of manner,-an apparently entire and thorough conviction of being in the right,an everlasting pursuit of, and entire devotion to the subject, to the seeming neglect and forgetfulness of every thing else,-an abrupt tone of vehemence and indignation,-a steadfast love of freedom, and corresponding hatred of oppression in all its forms,-a natural and idiomatic style,-vigour, argument, power -these were characteristics equally of the Greek and English orator. Even in the details, in their hurried and hasty transitions, in their use of parentheses to get rid of minor topics as they proceed, and in the general structure of sentences, it would not be difficult to point out frequent similarity.-But we must have done. Possibly, when M. Planche shall have published his Translation of the Oration for the Crown (which we collect, from his Preface, is ready), we may resume the subject;-and possibly, though it would be with the utmost diffidence, and without professing to do one-twentieth part of what M. Planche seems to think he has performed, we may attempt to give our readers an English specimen of the orator himself.

We must, of necessity, confine ourselves to a hasty and rapid notice of the performance of M. Planche, and we shall begin with that part of it, which we can speak of with approbation. He tells us, in the Preface, that great exertions have been made to give the text faithfully and correctly; and we believe him. It, certainly, does appear to be given, with great

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accuracy, from the best editions, and with minute attention to the printing. We have discovered no blunder; and the punctuation, moreover, is made with some reference to the sense, which, in many common editions, is so far from being the case, that, if the stops were regarded, there would, frequently, be no making any thing of many passages. When we come to the next part of M. Planche's execution, however, our praises must stop. We had to notice, in our last Number, that the French plume themselves, not a little, upon the science of Book-making; and here we have it upon the most improved recipe. Three-fourths of the first volume are consumed, before we get to the work. We have Treatises on Oratory-(of which the world was full already)—Oratory in general,--Oratory in particular,-Greek Oratory,-Latin Oratory,-(of course) French Oratory, and how to acquire it, Moyens d'acquérir la veritable Eloquence; - Portrait des Atheniens, '- Portrait des Romains, -(we don't stop to inquire wherefore)-Tableau précis de toute la Grece;-Treatises on Laws,-Treatises on Customs, Treatises on War-and God knows what not,-each, in itself, too small to give the slightest useful information, but capable, by their countless number, of filling up 369 mortal pages. Then we have again, Reflections on Translation in general, and Translation in particular,- Reflexions sur la Traduction en general,' and 'Reflexions sur la Traduction des Orateurs.' Upon the general subject, he has fallen, unwittingly, we must presume, into much the same course of remark as we adopted in our Review of a Translation of Cicero, Vol. 22. the difficulties, which we there enumerated, are adverted to, not so much to show an apprehension of them, as a confident expectation of mastering them. His acquaintance with the Greek he does not put his readers to the trouble of finding out. He has, it seems also, an enthusiastic admiration of his author, and some opinion of himself. But the French!-the language of modern Athens!-Upon this he places no small reliance. Always is it equal to his purpose;-never has it failed him.Aussi je declare, que si je ne pas rendu toutes les beautés de mes originaux, il faut l'imputer à l'incapacité du Tradacteur, et non à la pauvreté de la langue. '—Then we learn that it is soft, vigorous, precise, harmonious, douce, forte, precise, harmonieuse,' (Pref. p. 27.); and again that it possesses clearness, neatness, a lively turn of expression, force, delicacy, simplicity, nobleness, softness, precision, harmony, and imitative harmony;' and moreover (what was reserved for the discovery of M. Planche) an astonishing resemblance to the Greek!-En lisant, et, surtout, en traduisant j'ai aperçu moi-même, entre

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confident tone of M. Planche, we will not assert that he has entirely failed in his undertaking, or that he is not master of his orator's language. But we must observe, that if the French approve of Demosthenes in the dress of M. Planche, they are satisfied with something very different from Demosthenes himself;—and that there are, either from inadvertence, or because his own language did not support him, (a supposition, we have seen most zealously rejected by M. Planche), appearances which would justify a suspicion that he is not quite at home in his author. He tells us himself, that he gives a preference to his later exertions: And, accordingly, we took up the 9th Philippic, with a view to a more minute examination; and we have noted down no less than 20 passages, in which there is either a suppression of some part of the sentence, an interpolation of something foreign, or (what is worst of all) an absolute mistake and perversion of the meaning. An instance of the latter, which occurs early in the oration, and in which he seems strikingly to have altered the sense, we cannot pass over. Demosthenes is observing that if their affairs had been in their then situation, and the Athenians had done their duty throughout, the case would have been hopeless. The chance of amendment consisted in their having done literally nothing. Then comes the sentence, which is quite in his manner. Νῦν δὲ τῆς μὲν ῥαθυμίας τῆς ὑμετέρας και τῆς ἀμελέιας κεκράτηκε Φίλλιππος, τῆς πόλεως δ' ἐ κεκράτηκεν·—ἐδ ἥττηθε εμείς, αλλ' εδε xexivate. (p. 148). Which is thus translated.

'Jusqu'à present, Philippe n' a triomphé que de votre paresse et de votre negligence; il n' a triomphé de la republique. Vous n'avez pas été vaincus, puisque vous n'avez pas même reculé d'un seul pas.

The first part is right enough; but the conclusion utterly perverts the meaning. Their never having given way one step, obviously implies, that they had been at least keeping up a good fight with Philip; whereas advantages are admitted, from their inattention, throughout and in the beginning of the sentence itself. The sense is manifestly this. As it is, Philip has conquered your Indolence and Negligence, but the Country, he has not conquered:- You have not been beaten ;-far enough from it;-you have never been in motion.' That is, so far from having been beaten,-they had never got to action,-they had never stirred a finger! In the same Öration, and the very first sentence, the word wgoriva, a strong expression of the Athenian negligence, and throwing away their fortune, is omitted altogether, as is saárnuo in the

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same sentence, though it has some meaning, p. 144. In p. 147, Αἰδὲ τοιᾶναι πολλαι is sunk into l'abus, and συνήθει; not touched. In the same page, τρυφᾶν και κολακένεσθαι is mistranslated heureux dans vos Assemblées.' In p. 167, dogwguvusta, separated, cut off-trenched off from each other, is feebly and imperfectly given by a long periphrasis. In 171, avizorras, 'hold back,' is not translated at all, and ἄνω και κατω πεποιήκε τὰ τῶν Ελλήνων πράγματα, (same page) turned the affairs of the Greeks upside down, -topsyturvy is too coarse for the modern Attic, we presume, and passed by accordingly.-But we must have done; and can only take another instance, which M. Planche himself has selected as a specimen (and we surely must suppose it to be a favourable one) of his being able to give the form and spirit of the original. He gives the passage, and a remarkable one it is, in his Preface; and remarks, very properly, upon the failure of Laharpe, who renders it in such a manner that he might as well have said, generally, Here the orator said something about going as Ambassador to Thebes.' It runs thus· Οὐκ εἶπον μὲν λαῦτα, οὐκ ἔραψα δὲ· ἐδὲ ἔγραψα μὲν, εκ επρέσβευσαδὲ· ἐδὲ επρέσβευσα μὲν, ἐκ ἔπεισα δὲ Θηβαίος—ἀλλ ̓ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς, διὰ πάντων, άχρι της τελευτῆς διεξῆλθον, και ἔδωκ' εμαυτόν ὑμῖν ἁπλῶς, εἰς τὰς περιεληκοίας τῇ πόλει κινδύνες. * *

M. Planche translates thus. 'Je ne me contentai pas de proposer mon avis sans rediger le decret, ni de rediger le decret sans me charger de l'ambassade, ni de me charger de l'ambassade sans persuader les Thebans; mais depuis le commencement jusqu'à la conclusion de cette affaire, je fis tout ce qui pouvait en assurer le succès, et je me livrai sans reserve à tous les perils dont la republique était environnée. And we have no difficulty in admitting, that this is well;-si sic omnia! The beginning is given with great fidelity and spirit, though mon avis' is hardly a translation of TaTa; but, as if weary of well-doing, he flags at the end.—die wala is wholly omitted, and the essential and descriptive word do is let down to je fis tout ce qui pouvait en assurer le succès; and lastly, (though this is of less importance), Demosthenes does not say he gave himself up to the perils, &c., but to his country-vuv. We attempt the passage as follows,-but, it must be remembered, in homely English,-which, of course, cannot vie with the modern Attic in 'force, clearness, nobleness, harmony,' and so forth.

Nor did I propose these measures, and not reduce them into the form of a Decree ;-nor did I reduce them into the form of a Decree, and not go as Ambassador; nor did I go as Ambassador, and not

* Pref. p. 2.

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convert * the Thebans, but from the beginning,-throughout the whole, to the very end, I went through, and gave myself up to You, without reserve, against the perils which surrounded the country.' We have given through' twice, because in the original it is so, and as we render against,' which it must be, or as to, or for the purposes of;' for it cannot be in,' as usually translated.

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There is one consideration, it seems, which has induced M. Planche to bring forward his present work, which it is impossible to pass over without expressing some interest. The introduction of the Representative System, and, in consequence, of a larger share of popular Influence in the Government, are assigned by him as a reason for attempting to make his countrymen acquainted with these precious remains of Antiquity. Most heartily do we wish M. Planche success in this part of his undertaking; and that our volatile neighbours, by catching some portion of that spirit which blazes out in every page of these immortal works, may acquire and preserve a zealous and steady attachment to genuine and practicable Freedom, which they have hitherto seen dimly and obscurely in long perspective, and of the benefit of which they have begun, of late only, to feel some effects.

*We might have quoted this passage, when we were noticing the advantage of Demosthenes, in having convertible Audiences. He considered this conversion of the Thebans as a great triumph.

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Picturesque Views of the celebrated Antiquities of Pola in Istria. By Thomas Allason. Royal folio, 31. 15s. Proofs on French paper, 57. 10s. India proofs, 6. 15s.

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