of authorities in a work which has no pretensions to originality even of compilement. Indeed, I consider myself as having done little more, than collected into a convenient form and arrangement, some information (I hope entertaining and useful) before incommodiously dispersed either in scarce or cumbrous volumes.'

In order to add to the convenience of the work, as a book of occasional reference,' the author has generally inserted lists of the different productions of the several writers' and frequently a brief account of principal works.' He continues to inform us of the principles adopted by him in the choice of extracts, which are certainly judicious, and from which he appears seldom to have made any glaring deviations. In a subsequent paragraph, he amply apologizes for any faults of selection.

After modestly stating the advantages which he thinks may be derived from his work, and which in our opinion, he rather underrates than magnifies, he proceeds in the following terms:

Still, however, I do not present these volumes as a work of much research. I have examined scarcely at all into MS. stores; and have been more solicitous to give an account of authors who possess a permanent value, than of productions valuable only as curious relics of past literary ages. I considered also, that within the limits I thought proper to assign myself, the number of names might have been too great, as well as too little: for, as prose has not the advantage of poetry,(in which a sonnet is as complete as an epic poem) the extracts in the former case could rarely, from their brevity, have possessed a distinct and independent value. It seemed therefore more rational to allot to great and valuable authors a tolerable space, that the specimens exhibited from them might give the reader no incompetent idea of their respective excellencies, or peculiarities.'

He has adopted, throughout, the modern orthography, which he attempts to justify on grounds that we do not altogether approve. To the history of language, this pecu liarity is essential; and its absence in a work of this nature, savours too much of the tasteless spirit displayed by most of our historians, in whose indiscriminate style the manners and habits of the heroes of chivalry are confounded with those more familiar to themselves, who make the rude councils of our antient barons proceed on the same system of policy with the refined cabinets of modern Europe, and detail the bold exploits of a Black Prince in the same phrases which they apply to the campaigns. of a Marlborough or a Bonaparte.

CRIT. REV. Vol. 14. May, 1808.

C

At the same time we are aware of the difficulties atten dant on a close adherence to the spirit of antiquity in the point of orthography. Not that we conceive those persons whose judgments are worthy of being consulted likely to be repelled by the quaintness, or disgusted by the barbarism, of the antique garb; but because, from the early multiplica. tion of copies of books, and from the alterations made by successive transcribers before the invention of printing; and by different editors since;' it will be in many cases, very difficult, and in some perhaps impossible, to ascertain, the true orthography. But such obstacles should rather serve as a stimulus to the undertaking, than as a dissuasive from it. Mr. Burnett informs us that it once occurred to him to print a few sentences, or a short passage in each author, in the ancient manner,' and that he may probably adopt this measure at a future time, should his work obtain the public approbation. This, if executed with sufficient care, would certainly, in a great measure, answer the end proposed. But still we confess that we should be more satisfied, ourselves, by a general, than by a partial, adoption of the origi nal orthography.

The series opens with a single writer under the reign of Edward the third, our old entertaining liar, Mandeville. His propensity to the marvellous has brought him into great disrepute; but we ought to recollect that there must, probably, have been some foundation even for his lies; and that, in sifting their origin, romantic as they are, a great deal of very curious truth may still be discovered. The extracts here given are among the most miraculous of all his miracles. Of Hippocras's daughter transformed from a woman into a dragon,' and 'of the devil's head in the valley Perilous.' With regard to the first, even Vertot relates with gravity the story of a knight of Malta who acquired immortal honour by combating a dragon in the Isle of Rhodes; and, without presuming to discover who was the daughter of Hippocras, we cannot help suspecting that the two stories have a similar origin.

Under the reign of Richard the second, we are presented with a work of much greater importance, though but a translation, The first Prose Chronicle in the English Language.' The original work, Polychronicon,' was compiled by Higden, a Benedictine of the preceding reign, in Latin; and this translation was the work of John de Trevisa, a Cornish-man, who undertook it at the request of Thomas lord Berkeley about the year 1387. The work is prefaced by a dialogue on the utility of translations,' and afterwards follows a dedi cation to lord Berkeley. We copy the following extract

for the sake of the excellent rule contained in it, which we recommend to the serious consideration of all future translators.

Wealth and worship to my worthy and worshipful Lord Tho mas, Lord of Barkley. I John Trevisa, your priest and bedeman, obedient and buxom to work your will, hold in heart, think in thought, and mean in mind your needful meaning and speech that ye spake and said, that ye would have English translation of Ranulph of Chester's Books of Chronicles. Therefore I will fond to take that travail, and make English translation of the same books, as God granteth me grace. For blame of backbiters

will I not blinne for envy of enemies, for evil spiting and speech of evil speakers will I not leave to do this deed: for travail will f not spare. Comfort I have in needful making and pleasing to God, and in knowing that I wote that it is your will.

For to make this translation clear, and plain, to be known and understanden, in some place, I shall set word for word, and active for active, and passive for passive, a row, right as it standeth, without changing of the order of words. But in some places I must change the order of words, set active for passive, and againword; and in some places I must set a reason for a word, and tell what it meaneth. But for all such changing, the meaning shall stand and not be changed. But some words and names of countries, of lands, of cities, of waters, of rivers, of mountains and hills, of persons, and of places, must be set and stand for themselves in their own kind; as Asia, Europa, Africa, and Syria; Mount Atlas, Sinai, and Oreb; Maeah, Jordan, and Armon; Bethlem, Nazarath, Jerusalem, and Damascus ; Hannibal, Rasin, Ahsuerus and Cyrus; and many such words and names. If any man make of these Books of Chronicles a better English translation and more profitable, God do him meed. And by cause ye make me do this meedful deed, he that quiteth all good deeds, quite your meed, in the bliss of heaven, in wealth and liking with all the holy saints of mankind, and the nine orders of angels; as angels, archangels, principates, potestates, virtutes, dominations, thrones, cherubin and seraphin, to see God in his blissful face in joy withouten any end. Amen.'

The Polychronicon was afterwards continued by Caxton, from 1357 where the original ended, to 1460. The following observation contains an important fact in the history of our language:

What Caxton says of Trevisa's translation is remarkable. In the course of a hundred and twenty years, the time which had elapsed between that translation and its being printed by him, it appears that the language had undergone such alterations, that many words used by Trevisa had ceased to be employed, and ven to be understood. This great change was especially pro

moted by the renowned poets Chaucer and Gower, to whom the early improvement of our language is chiefly to be attributed.'

Many other curious remarks occur in this place on the mutability of our language and the diversity of dia Jects in Caxton's time; but our limits restrain us from enlarging on them. We will, however, ask Mr. Burnett whether it would not have been more consistent with his general plan if he had deferred all observation on this continu ation of Caxton's, till he came regularly to the period of its composition?

Trevisa conferred a still greater obligation on his country than the work we have mentioned, by a translation of the Old and New Testament.-Mr. Burnett apprehends that no copy of this translation is now in existence, and he afterwards mentions it as probable that it consisted only of particular portions of the Bible.

We are now naturally introduced to the venerable Wicliffe who appears justly entitled to the praise of being the first entire translator of the Bible.

Then follows Chaucer, of whom we have an interesting biographical sketch extracted from the massy volumes of Godwin and a curious passage from his Translation of Boethius. The English language received many lasting im provements under the hands of this great father of our poetry, principally, as Mr. B. remarks, from his acquaintance with the Provençal, then the most polished dialect of Eu rope.

In the article of Bishop Pecock (temp. Henry VI.) we are presented with an antidote to the poison which we may have imbibed from the heresies of Wicliffe. The character which Mr. Burnett has drawn of this orthodox prelate is justified by the long extracts he has given from his Repressor."

Reynold Pecock was evidently a man of strong parts, and of learning far superior to those of his time. He was not only skilled in all the subtleties of the logic and divinity of the schoolmen, but had studied with deep attention the law of nature and nations. He was at once acute and eloquent. But his talents were unhappily engaged in the hopeless attempt to defend the absurd doctrines and usages of the church of Rome,on the principles of reason. To his praise, however, be it said, that he always conducted his opposition with great moderation and candour. He patiently listened to the arguments of his antagonists, without replying to them, as was the custom with the rest of his order, with insult and outrage. This gentleness and forbearance towards heretics, (even more than his heretical opinions) were the cause of his persecution. The following short prayer, composed

by himself in English, as it exhibits a picture of the benignity and candour of his mind, deserves to be transcribed:

O thou Lord Jesu, God and man, head of thy Christian church, and teacher of Christian belief, I beseech thy mercy, thy pity and thy charity; far be this said peril [of implicit faith] from the Christian church, and from each person therein contained; and shield thou,' that this venom be never brought into thy church; and if thou suffer it to be any while brought in, I beseech thee, that it be soon again outspit; but suffer thon, ordain, and do that the law and the faith, which thy chosen at any time keepeth, be received and admitted to fall under this examination-whether it be the same very faith which those of thine apostles taught or no, and whether it hath sufficient evidences for it to be very faith or no

Sir John Fortescue is next noticed, and ample specimens given from his book, 'On the Difference between an abso lute and limited Monarchy,' which was published in 1714 by judge Fortescue Aland. This work is indeed a glorious relique of antiquity, since it teaches us how long-established and how venerable are our proud claims of national freedom.

The book we have mentioned and his more celebrated production De Laudibus Legum Angliæ,' are his only printed works; but the MSS. of his writing scattered about in different libraries are numerous and many of them invaluable. We cannot but express our wish that some able person (why not Mr. Burnett himself?) would profit by the suggestion contained in the following paragraph.

The works of Fortescue contain many facts relative to some of the darkest periods of our history, together with various notices, interesting to the antiquarian. There can be no doubt, there fore, that several of his MSS. which still are extant, may be printed with advantage.'

The publication of Fenn's letters' is so fresh in the memory of most of our readers, that we shall make no observation respecting them, except that Mr. Burnett has very judiciously inserted considerable extracts which illus trate, not only the style, but the history of the times.

The next article is that of Caxton' which is prefaced by a short but interesting account of the progress of French literature previous to the period of his writing. Caxton is usually known only as father of the art of printing in England. But his services to literature were not confined to that most essential benefit. He translated the greatest number of the works he printed; and, as Mr. Burnett ob serves, those which he did not translate, he often revised and altered; so that in point of language they may be con