"Why, foolish painter, give those wings to. Love? EUPHRON. Euphron is another poet of our Middle lift, and one whose fame has outlived the works on which it was founded. Six of his comedies only have bequeathed their names to us, and a very scanty portion of their contents. One of these was intitled Adelphi, another claimant perhaps upon Terence. Athenæus and Stobæus, (thanks to their paffion for quotations and frag-. ments!) have favoured us with a few small reliques. There is something in the following diftich of a melancholy and touching fimplicity "Tell me, all-judging Jove, if this be fair "To make so short a life fo full of care?" What next ensues I recommend to the gentlemen, who amuse themselves with cutting out work for Doctors-Commons: "Hence, vile adulterer, I scorn to gain The antients had a notion, that a man, who took no care of his own affairs, was not the fittest H 2 fittest person in the world to be entrusted with those of others; writers for the stage must make the most of vulgar errors, whilst they are in fashion, and this may have betrayed our poet into a sentiment, which modern wits will not give him much credit for "Let not his fingers touch the public chest, "Who by his own profusion is distrest; "For long long years of care it needs must take "To heal those wounds, which one short hour will "make." I think the reader will acknowledge a very spirited and striking turn of thought in this short apostrophe. "Wretch! find new gods to witness to new lies, HENIOCHUS. Heniochus, the author of a numerous collection of comedies, was born at Athens, a writer of a grave fententious caft, and one, who scrupled not to give a personal name to one of his comedies, written professedly against the character of Thorucion, a certain military prefect in those times, and a notorious traitor to his country. The titles of fifteen comedies are upon the lift of this poet's works: from one of thefe these a curious fragment has been saved, and though it seems rather of a political than a dramatic complexion, I think it's good sense is fufficient to recommend it to a place in this collection. " I will enumerate to you several cities, which " in the course of time have fallen into egregious " folly and declension: You may demand why " I instance them at this time and in this place" I answer that we are now present in the city of "Olympia, and you may figure to yourself a "kind of Pythian solemnity in the scene before "us-Granted! you'll say, and what then? "Why then I may conceive these several cities " here assembled by their representatives for the " purpose of celebrating their redemption from "slavery by folemn sacrifices to the Genius of "Liberty: This performed, they deliver them" selves over to be governed at the discretion of " two certain female personages, whom I shall " name to you-the one Democracy, Ariftocracy "the other-From this fatal moment universal " anarchy and misrule inevitably fall upon those " cities, and they are loft." MNESIMACHUS. This poet is recorded by Ælian and Athenæus, and by the samples we have of his co 1 •medy, few as they are, we may fee that he was a minute describer of the familiar manners and characters of the age he lived in: I take him to have been a writer of a peculiar cast, a dealer in low and loquacious dialogue, a strong coarfe colourist, and one, who, if time had spared his works, would probably have imparted to us more of the Costuma, as it is called, than any of his contemporaries: I perfuade myself that the samples I am about to produce will juflify these furmises with refspect to Mnesimachus. Jonson could not defcribe, nor Mortimer de lineate, a company of banditti or bravos at their meal in bolder caricature, than what the follow ing sketch displays. "Doft know whom thou'rt to sup with, friend? I'll "With gladiators, not with peaceful guests; There remains a very curious fragment of a dialogue between a master and his flave, which lays 1 ? lays open to the reader the whole catalogue of an Athenian fish-market, and after all the pains it has occafioned me in the decyphering, leaves me under the neceffity of fetting down a few of the articles in their original names, not being able to find any lexicon or grammarian in the humour to help me out of my difficulty. : "Master. Harkye, fellow! make the best " of your way to Phidon's riding-school (your "road lies through the cypress-grove burying" place to the forum by the public baths, where our tribunes hold their meetings) and tell " those pretty gentlemen, who are there at their "exercises of vaulting on their horses and off " their horses (you know well enough whom I "mean) tell 'em I say that their supper is grown " cold, their liquor hot, their pastry dry, their "bread stale, their roast done to powder, their "falt-meat stript from the very bones, their "tripes, chitterlings, sausages and stuft-pud "dings mangled and devoured by guests, who " are before-hand with 'em: The glass has gone " round, and the wine is nearly out; the com 66 pany are at their frolicks, and the house thrown "out of windows-Now mark and remember every fyllable I have faid to you-Doft yawn, "rafcal?-Let me hear if you can repeat the " message I have given you. H 4 "Servant. |