INTRODUCTION. Bleft as th' immortal gods is be, And hears and fees thee all the while, &c. It may be neceffary to inform the reader that, deference to the authority of fo good a judge, bemany of the following odes were tranflated feve- fides what the reader will find obferved with reral years ago; at College, for the author's amufe-gard to Mr. Philips's miftaking the true fenfe of ment, without any intention of making them pu- his author, the three first lines are amazingly blic. But being encouraged by the partiality of rough and awkward. friends, and allowed to infert thofe odes of Anacreon, which are elegantly tranflated by the late Dr. Broome, and a few others t; he determined to give an entire version of the Teian bard, as no one of this nation had hitherto done it. Mr. John Addifon's tranflation is incomplete, and, excepting a few odes, harsh and crude, and far from being well done. What the late ingenious and learned Mr. Weft fays of Cowley's Pindar, may be applied to his odes of Anacreon: "That they have not the "least resemblance to the manner of the author "whom they pretend to imitate, or, if any, it is "fuch a refemblance only as is expreffed by the " Italian word caricatura, a monstrous and diftort"ed likeness." It may be thought a bold undertaking to attempt Sappho, after the high encomiums which Mr. Addison, in the Spectator, has paffed on Philips's tranflation of her two odes. But, with • Dr. Broomes's Odes were printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, under the name of Charles Chefter, M. D. Viz. Odes 2, II, 45, 49, and 51. It is furprising, that fuch unpoetical expreffions, as those here marked should efcape the cenfure of the accurate Mr. Addison, unless we fufpect that the partiality of the friend biassed the judgment of the critic. It is equally furprising, that the beautiful Idylliums of Bion and Moschus, which charm every reader in the original, should scarce ever have been attempted in English. The tranflator, therefore, may juttly claim fome merit in endeavouring to make these elegant Greek writers fpeak his native language. He cannot conclude this fhort introduction, without returning his thanks to an ingenious and worthy friend (whose name would do honour to the title page) for his revifal and correction of this little work, and for those excellent tranflations of the Idylliums of Moschus, marked D. THE LIFE OF ANACREON. ANACREON was born at Teos, a fea-port town of Ionia. Who were his parents is uncertain, though it is conjectured, from good authority, that his family was noble. The time of his birth, according to Barnes, was in the second year of the 55th Olympiad, about the beginning of the reign of Cyrus, in the year of Rome 194, and the 554th be fore Chrift According to this account, he was about eighteen years of age, when Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, came with an army against the confederate,cities of the Ionians and Æolians. The Teians, finding themselves too weak to withstand the enemy, rather chose to abandon their country, than their liberty, and therefore transported themfelves and their families to the city of Abdera in Thrace; where they had not been long settled, before the Thracians, jealous of their new neighbours, endeavoured to give them disturbance. It is probable, that in these conflicts, Anacreon loft those friends whom he laments in fome of his epigrams. We cannot expect many particulars of the life of this poet, because he seems to have been a profeffed defpifer of business, and the cares of the Lijj INTRODUCTION. Bleft as th' immortal gods is be, And hears and fees thee all the while, &c. Ir may be neceflary to inform the reader that, deference to the authority of fo good a judge, bemany of the following odes were tranflated feve- fides what the reader will find obferved with reral years ago, at College, for the author's amufe-gard to Mr. Philips's miftaking the true fenfe of ment, without any intention of making them pu- his author, the three first lines are amazingly blic. But being encouraged by the partiality of rough and awkward. friends, and allowed to infert those odes of Ana- | creon, which are elegantly tranflated by the late Dr. Broome, and a few others †; he determined to give an entire version of the Teian bard, as no one of this nation had hitherto done it. Mr. John Addifon's tranflation is incomplete, and, excepting a few odes, harsh and crude, and far from being well done. What the late ingenious and learned Mr. Weft fays of Cowley's Pindar, may be applied to his odes of Anacreon: "That they have not the "least resemblance to the manner of the author "whom they pretend to imitate, or, if any, it is *fuch a resemblance only as is expreffed by the "Italian word caricatura, a monftrous and diftort"ed likeness." It may be thought a bold undertaking to attempt Sappho, after the high encomiums which Mr. Addifon, in the Spectator, has passed on Philips's tranflation of her two odes. But, with • Dr. Broomes's Odes were printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, under the name of Charles Chefter, M. D. † Viz. Odes 2, II, 45, 49, and 51. It is furprising, that fuch unpoetical expreffions, as thofe here marked fhould efcape the cenfure of the accurate Mr. Addison, unless we fufpect that the partiality of the friend biaffed the judgment of the critic. It is equally surprising, that the beautiful Idylliums of Bion and Mofchus, which charm every reader in the original, should scarce ever have been attempted in English. The tranflator, therefore, may justly claim fome merit in endeavouring to make these elegant Greek writers fpeak his na. tive language. He cannot conclude this fhort introduction, without returning his thanks to an ingenious and worthy friend (whose name would do honour to the title page) for his revifal and correction of this little work, and for thofe excellent tranflations of the Idylliums of Moschus, marked D. THE LIFE OF ANACREON. ANACREON was born at Teos, a fea-port town of Jonia. Who were his parents is uncertain, though it is conjectured, from good authority, that his family was noble. The time of his birth, according to Barnes, was in the fecond year of the 55th Olympiad, about the beginning of the reign of Cyrus, in the year of Rome 194, and the 554th be fore Chrift According to this account, he was about eighteen years of age, when Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, came with an army against the confederate,cities of the Ionians and Æolians. The Teians, finding themselves too weak to withstand the enemy, rather chofe to abandon their country, than their liberty, and therefore tranfported themfelves and their families to the city of Abdera in Thrace; where they had not been long fettled, before the Thracians, jealous of their new neighbours, endeavoured to give them disturbance. It is probable, that in these conflicts, Anacreon loft those friends whom he laments in fome of his epi grams. We cannot expect many particulars of the life of this poet, because he seems to have been a profeffed defpifer of business, and the cares of the INTRODUCTION. It may be necessary to inform the reader that, It may be thought a bold undertaking to at- • Dr. Broomes's Odes were printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, under the name of Charles Chester, M. D. Viz. Odes 2, II, 45, 49, and 51. deference to the authority of so good a judge, be- Bleft as th' immortal gods is be, And hears and fees thee all the while, &c. It is furprising, that such unpoetical expreffions, as those here marked should efcape the cenfure of the accurate Mr. Addison, unless we fufpect that the partiality of the friend biaffed the judgment of the critic. It is equally furprising, that the beautiful Idylliums of Bion and Mofchus, which charm every reader in the original, fhould scarce ever have been attempted in English. The translator, therefore, may justly claim fome merit in endeavouring to make these elegant Greek writers speak his na tive language. He cannot conclude this fhort introduction, without returning his thanks to an ingenious and worthy friend (whose name would do honour to the title page) for his revifal and correction of this little work, and for thofe excellent tranflations of the Idylliums of Moschus, marked D. THE LIFE OF ANACREON. ANACREON was born at Teos, a fea-port town of Ionia. Who were his parents is uncertain, though it is conjectured, from good authority, that his family was noble. The time of his birth, according to Barnes, was in the fecond year of the 55th Olympiad, about the beginning of the reign of Cyrus, in the year of Rome 194, and the 554th be fore Chrift According to this account, he was about eighteen years of age, when Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, came with an army against the confederate cities of the Ionians and Æolians. The Teians, finding themselves too weak to withstand the enemy, rather chose to abandon their country, than their liberty, and therefore transported themfelves and their families to the city of Abdera in Thrace; where they had not been long fettled, before the Thracians, jealous of their new neighbours, endeavoured to give them disturbance. It is probable, that in these conflicts, Anacreon lost those friends whom he laments in some of his epi. grams. We cannot expect many particulars of the life of this poet, because he seems to have been a profeffed defpifer of business, and the cares of the |