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He then unto the ladder turns his back,

Looks in the clouds, fcorning the bafe degrees
By which he did afcend. So Cæfar may.

Thus Mr. Voltaire translates it:
BRUTUS.

-On fait affez quelle eft l'ambition.

L'échelle des grandeurs à fes yeux fe préfente,
Elle y monte en cachant fon front aux fpectateurs ;
Et quand elle est haut, alors elle se montre;
Alors jufques au ciel élevant ses regards,

D'un coup d'œil meprifant fa vanité dédaigne
Les premiers échelons qui firent fa grandeur.
C'eft ce que peut Cefar.

"One knows what ambition is: the ladder of grandeurs presents itself to her; in going up The hides her face from the spectators; when she is at the top then the fhews herfelf; then raising her view to the heavens, with a scornful look her vanity disdains the steps of the ladder that made her greatness, This it is that Cæfar may do."

In the original, Lowliness is young ambition's ladder; the man who by feign'd humi

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lity and courtefy, has attained the power to which he aspired, turns his back on those humble means by which he afcended to it; the metaphor agreeing both to the man, who has gained the top of the ladder, or to him who has risen to the fummit of power, In the tranflation, ambition ascends by steps of grandeurs, hiding her face from the spectators, when the is at the top, with a look or glance of her eye her vanity disdains the first fteps fhe took; which steps, obferve, were grandeurs; fo the allegory is vanity and ambition difdaining grandeur; and the image prefented is a woman climbing up a ladder, which is not a very common object, but more so than Vanity's disdaining grandeurs.

I am forry the translator had not a better English dictionary, for on that, not on his own knowledge of our tongue, it is plain he depended. In another instance it misleads him. After Portia had importuned Brutus, to communicate to her the fecret cause of his perturbation, he fays to her,

BRUTUS.

BRUTUS.

Portia, go in a while

And, by and by, thy bofom fhall partake

The fecrets of my heart.

All my engagements I will conftrue to thee,
All the charactery of my fad brows.
Leave me with hafte,

The dictionary was confulted for the word conftrue; and thus, according to the ufual form, one may suppose it to have stood : To conftrue, to interpret. This not ferving the purpose, to interpret was next fought; here he finds, to interpret or to explain; again with indefatigable industry, excited by a defire to excel all tranflators and translations, he has recourse to the article to explain; under this head he finds, to unfold or clear up; so away goes the translator to clear fo the countenance of Brutus.

up

Va, mes fourcils froncés prennent un air plus doux. "Go;" fays he;

take a fofter air."

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my frowning brow shall

There are so many grofs blunders in this

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work,

work, that it would be tedious to point them out; but it is to be hoped, they will deter other beaux, efprits from attempting to hurt works of genius, by the masked battery of an unfair translation. Mr. Voltaire defires, that by his tranflation all Europe will compare the thoughts, the ftile, and the judgment of Shakespear, with the thoughts, the ftile, and the judgment of Corneille. It is difficult, perhaps impoffible, to make the graces of ftyle pafs from one language to another; and our blank verse cannot be equalled by French blank verfe. The thoughts might in fome measure have been given, if the tranflator had understood the words, in which Shakespear hath expreffed them. Upon the judgment of both the authors in the choice of the story, in the conduct of it, in exciting the sympathies belonging to it, in the fashioning of the characters, in the nobleness of fentiment, and the reprefentation of Roman manners, we shall upon close examination of the Cinna and Julius Cæfar be able to pronounce.

As

As the fubject of the drama is built on a conspiracy, which every one knows had not any effect, and as the author has fo conducted it as to render the pardon, Augustus gives the confpirators, an act of political prudence rather than of generous clemency, there is not any thing to interest us, but the characters of Cinna, Emilia, and Maximus, Let us examine how far they are worthy to do fo, as fet forth in this piece; for we have no hiftorical acquaintance with them. Emilia is the daughter of Toranius, the Tutor of Auguftus, who was profcribed by him in his Triumvirate. As we have not any knowledge of this Toranius, we are no more concerned about any cruelty committed upon him, than upon any other man, so that we are not prepared to enter into the outrageous resentment of Emilia; efpecially as we fee her, in the court of Auguftus, under the facred relation of his adopted daughter, enjoying all the privileges of that distinguished fituation, and treated with the tenderness of paternal love. Nothing fo much deforms the feminine

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