AN EPIGRAM; from the Gentleman's Magazine. FRIAR Paul, in his cell, made his exit of late, Of the gravel fome say; but no matter for that; He died, that's enough; and if the story say right, Who's there! cries the Dæmon, on guard; Quoth the other Halt, instantly halt, cry'd the sentry; stand clear, HOPE PERSONIFIED. From Lorenzo de' Medici. By WILLIAM I ROSCOE. MMENSE of bulk, her tow'ring head she shews, Illusive beings round their sovereign wait- THE HAPPINESS OF A COUNTRY LIFE. By the fame. T HY splendid halls, thy palaces forgot, Can paths o'erspread with thorns a charm fupply: Or, doft thou seek, from our feverer lot, : Thus I replied " I know no happier life, The weed ambition 'midst your furrow'd field What the heart thinks the tongue may here disclose, The Author calls upon the Faculties of his own Mind to exert themselves to great and useful Purposes. By WM. ROSCOE. From the fame. R ISE from thy trance, my flumb'ring genius rife, Awake, and see, fince reason gave the rein Ah think how fair thy better hopes had sped, At At length thy long-loft liberty regain, And give to Reason's rule thy future hours; To her dominion yield thy trusting soul, And bind thy wishes to her strong controul, Crush'd by her hand, shall mourn his humbled crest. On the Death of POLITIAN, occafioned by a fall from a Stair-Cafe, as he was playing on his Lute. AN ELEGY on the Death of his Friend LORENZO DE' MEDICI; He stopt, he gaz'd: the storm of passion raged; And prayers with tears were mingled-tears with grief! For loft Lorenzo war with fate he waged; And ev'ry god was call'd to his relief. The tyrant smil'd, and mindful of the hour, He spoke, and speaking, launch'd the shaft of fate, VOL. XXXVII. [*L] Account Account of Books for 1795. The Life of Lorenzo de' Medici, called the Magnificent. By William Roscoe, 4to. 2 vol. 1795. IT T was afferted, probably with justice, by Gibbon, that there is no fcholar in Afia who might not receive accessions to his knowledge from the perufal of the work of d'Herbelot, a native of the remote and * unbelieving countries of the west. It might perhaps be affirmed, with equal propriety, that the most learned men of Ifpahan and Conftantinople would profit by the study of the oriental writings of fir William Jones. We know with certainty that d'Anville was capable of instructing the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile and the Euphrates, in the ancient geography of Egypt and Affyria.None of these triumphs, of learned industry, however, over the obstacles of a foreign language of diffimilar manners, and of distance both in time and place, are in our opinion so striking as that which is exhibited in the work now before us. In all the inftances to which we have alluded, the nations which fuffered themfelves to be furpassed in their own national literature, by foreigners, had declined from their ancient fplendour. In fome of the examples, those nations had become altogether rude and barbarous. It excites no wonder that the scholars of Oxford and Gottingen should be more familiar with the history of Pericles, and more converfant with the writings of Thucydides, than the wretched and ignorant inhabitants of modern Athens:-but that difcoveries should be made in the literature of one of the most polite and learned nations of Europe, bv a foreigner who had never vifited that country, who was not profeffionally devoted to study, who did not enjoy the ease of lettered leifure, but who was immersed in the pursuits of an active and laborious profession, is circumftance to fingular and fo wonderful, as to be of itself fufficient to confer no mean degree of interest and importance on the work of Mr. Rof a That Italian poems of the 15th century, unknown to the scholars of Italy in the present age, should be given to the public by an attorney of Liverpool, is a fact which we believe to be unparalleled in the history of literature. The reader will naturally be curious to learn how a writer, in the circumstances of Mr. Rofcoe, could have been encouraged to attempt a * In the eye of Mahommedans-unbelieving. coe. werk work not implying merely the addition of elegance and philosophy to the narrative of facts already known, which a Hume, a Robertson, or a Gibbon, might have bestowed in their closets, but containing valuable and important acceffions to the stock of our historical knowledge. This curiofity will be best satisfied by the author himself.-Speaking of the labours of his predeceflors, he 1ays, Such being the attempts that had been made to exhibit to the public the life and labours of Lorenzo de' Medici, I conceived that there could be no great degree of arrogance in endeavouring to give a more full and particular account of them: nor was I deterred from the undertaking by the confideration, that Providence had placed my lot beyond the limits of that favoured country. "Ch' Appenin parte, e'l mar circonda el' Alpe." ، The truth is that, in a remote part of this remote kingdom, and deprived of the many advantages peculiar to feats of learning, I faw no difficulty in giving a more full, distinct, and accurate idea of the fubject than could be collected from any performance I had then met with. For fome years past, the works of the Italian writers had amused a portion of my leifure hours; a partiality for any particular object generally awakens the defire of obtaining farther information respecting it, and from the perufal of the Italian poets, I was insensibly led to attend to the literary history of that cultivated nation. In tracing the rife of modern literature, I foon perceived that every thing great and estimable in cience and in art revolved round Lorenzo de' Medici, during the short but splendid æra of his life, as a common centre, and derived from him its invariable preservation and support. Under these impreffions, I began to collect fuch scattered notices respecting him as fell in my way; and the Florentine histories of Macchiavelli and Amirato, the critical labours of Crefcimbeni, Muratori, Bandini, and Tirabofchi, with other works of less importance of which I then found myself pofsessed, supplied me with materials towards the execution of my plan. I had not however proceeded far, before I perceived that the subject deferved a more minute inquiry; for which purpose it would be neceffary to refort to contemporary authorities, and if poffible to original documents. The impracticability of obtaining in this country the information of which I stood in need would perhaps have damped the ardour of my undertaking, had not a circumstance presented itself in the highest degree favourable to my purpose. An intimate friend, with whom I had been many years united in studies and affections, had paid a vifit to Italy, and had fixed his winter refidence at Florence. I well knew that I had only to request his afsistance, in order to obtain whatever information he had an opportunity of procuring, from the very fpot which was to be the scene of my intended history. My inquiries were particularly directed towards the Laurentian and Riccardi libraries, which I was convinced would afford much original and interesting information. would be unjust merely to say that my friend afforded me the affiftance I required; he went far beyond even the hopes I had formed, and [L2] his It |