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We now proceed to Turkish literature, which was cultivated, particularly in Austria, where Meninsky, the author of the Turkish dictionary, published various works of the same kind. Professor Kosegarten has published a Turkish poem, and Tholuk has also translated from the same language; but the greatest scholar in this difficult language is von Hammer of Vienna, author of the History of the Ottoman Empire,' translator of Baki's Divan,' and other works.

The study of hieroglyphics, which had long been fruitlessly pursued, has at length proceeded so far, that England, Germany, and France, all boast of having found the key to the ancient Egyptian writing; and the names of Young, Champollion, and Spohn, will never be forgotten. Spohn, an eminent classical scholar, late Professor at Leipzig, studied the Oriental dialects, especially the Coptic; and, after strenuous exertions, he succeeded so far as to give an explanation of the Rosetta inscription. In consequence of this, hieroglyphic rolls were sent to him from Berlin, where there are several, brought from Egypt by Count von Minutoli. * Professor Spohn was about to publish a large work on the subject of hieroglyphics, explanatory of his principles of deciphering them, when he fell a victim to disease. His works were delivered to Professor Seyffarth, of the same university, under whose inspection they were published. The principal is entitled, Rudimenta Hieroglyphices,' published in 1825. The principles here laid down are different from Champollion's, and it remains yet to be seen which has put forth the best founded system. But Seyffarth, at the expense of the Saxonian government, undertook a literary journey to France and Italy, where he found some important documents concerning Coptic literature; and we hope soon to see the Coptic language studied with a greater degree of application than has been hitherto given

to it.

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The hieroglyphics have been sometimes, though without any foundation, compared with the Chinese, which venerable language has a considerable number of admirers. Dr. Hager, a German, Dr. Montucci, residing at Dresden, and Mr. Jul. Klaproth, a native of Prussia, have given memorable proofs of their Chinese

Many other learned men travelled to the east for scientific purposes: Messrs Ehrenberg and Hemprich, Professor Scholz, and Mr. Rüppel of Frankfort, the wellknown African traveller. The Geographical Society of Frankfort, in order to show its sense of the kind and condescending attention of the Pasha of Egypt to Mr. Ruppel, sent him a diploma, electing him an honorary member of the Society. But the Pasha was highly offended, that an infidel people should have elected him, a monarch of the faithful, a member of their Society.

learning.

learning. The Prussian government, so distinguished for its general encouragement of oriental literature, is equally praiseworthy for the protection shown to the Chinese. Two Chinese youths, Assing and Hass, who came to Prussia in 1823, and some time afterwards embraced Christianity, were settled by the Prussian government in the University of Halle, where they taught the Chinese language. One of their pupils, Mr. Schott, has since given proofs of his successful application, by a translation from the Chinese into German. The Baron von Humboldt has published a learned letter on the Chinese language.

The Sanscrit language has been long unjustly neglected, but now begins to excite attention both in France and Germany, in which latter country it is of the more interest, by reason of the undoubted affinity between Indian and German. This matter was ably discussed by the learned Professor Bopp, of Berlin, who, at the instigation of the Bavarian government, visited the Oriental Institutions of France and England. A work of his, entitled Nalus,' &c., exhibiting a poem of the Mahabharat, was printed at London, in 1819, owing to the want of Sanscrit type in Germany, a circumstance extremely unfavourable to the cultivation of the language. Professor Frank, who enjoyed, like Professor Bopp, an opportunity of pursuing his studies in France and England, by means of the King of Bavaria, surmounted the impediment just alluded to, by the incredible labour of cutting his Chrestomathy and Grammar in stone, and publishing them by the help of lithographic printing, which was also made use of by Professor Bernstein, who, in 1823, published a piece of the Hetoopades. Such endeavours are, however, no longer necessary, Prussia having provided Sanscrit types of the utmost beauty. Professor Schlegel, of Bonn, was intrusted with the superintendence of the casting of these types, which task he performed with perfect success. He is the editor of the 'Bhaghavad Geta,' and the periodical entitled Indische Bibliothek.' The whole Ramayana' is also destined for publication by the same eminent scholar. Professor Frank's Sanscrit Grammar, the first that appeared in Germany, has been followed by that of M. Bopp, which has just been published, and is of the greatest value.

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Dr. Rosen and Professor Ewald have followed in the way thus marked out for them. The former has edited a work, called Radices Sanscritas,' and the latter an essay on Sanscrit metres. Baron von Humboldt has written an essay on the Sanscrit language, in the periodical above-mentioned, edited by Schlegel.

We hope that the zeal for Oriental learning, thus shown to

exist

exist in Germany, will meet with no obstacle, but proceed with all the success which we are entitled to anticipate. We shall, probably, hereafter undertake a further elucidation of the subject.

ART. XII.-Corpus Scriptorum Historic Byzantine: editio emendatior et copiosior, consilio B. G. Niebuhri, C. F., instituta, opera ejusdem Niebuhri, Imm. Bekkeri, L. Schopeni, G. Dindorfii, aliorumque Philologorum parata. Pars III. Agathias. Bonnæ. 1828.

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NEW edition of the Byzantine historians was announced by subscription last year, under the editorship of the celebrated Professor Niebuhr of Bonn. It had been for a long time difficult or almost impossible to procure any copy of the Paris edition, which by the by is replete with errors; the Venice edition is a bad reprint of the Paris edition, and, as such, very high in price; besides, several manuscripts have been found, since the Paris edition has been published, which were capable of giving to a new Corpus Script. Histor. Byzant. a decided preference over the French edition. It is superfluous to add, that the new edition was sure to have the advantage of a more correct text, and more accurate Latin translations, as, from the progress of classical knowledge in Germany, this merit is well known to belong invariably to German editions. We, therefore, confidently anticipated the complete success of the undertaking; the more so, as Niebuhr's name was in itself a sufficient guarantee for its proper execution. The barbarous power, which has established itself on the ruins of the Byzantine empire, is at this moment attracting such universal attention, that the history of the Byzantine empire acquires a new interest, and commands even a more serious investigation from those who wish to connect the history of the regeneration of Greece, by an intermediate link, with the history of ancient Greece.

The principal co-editor of Niebuhr is Immanuel Bekker, well known in England by his excellent edition of Plato and Aristophanes, &c., and G. Dindorf, to whom we owe the four last volumes of Invernitzii Aristophanes,' and who published lately a new edition of Athenæus Deipnosophista:' the latter work will be completed in five volumes, of which three have already appeared. To judge from these, we should at once give the preference to the new edition over the ill-digested, voluminous and expensive edition of Schweighäuser.

The first volume of the Corpus Script. Hist. Byzant. has just

been

been published; it will form Pars III. in the collection, as Procopius must necessarily precede it. It contains Agathias, and is dedicated by Professor Niebuhr to his friend and co-editor Bekker, 6 summo in recensendis Græcorum scriptis artifici ut apud posteros amicitiæ monumentum exstet et nova Byzantinorum editio fausto omine prodeat.' These words bring to our recollection those noble words of affection and friendship towards Savigny, in Niebuhr's preface to his History of Rome. The preface to Agathias, page 1-12, tells us, that J. Classen, a pupil of Hermann, assisted Niebuhr materially in revising the text of the author. The translation of Persona was found almost as useful as a new codex of Agathias, especially as the defects of Vulcanius's translation could easily be supplied from it. But the Codex Rehdigeranus' itself, from which the translation of Persona has been made, and which Vulcanius, in the year 1594, was unable to obtain, was found out again, and sent to Niebuhr by Professor Passow at Breslau. Nothing then remained but to collate it with the Codex Lugdunensis, which was, indeed, done. It now appears that the various readings, of the printed editions, had their origin chiefly in the edition of Vulcanius.

Schopen, an accomplished scholar of Bonn, has undertaken to correct the proofs with the most minute care and attention; with respect to orthography and accents, the same system will be followed throughout. We cannot understand the necessity for this uniformity in orthography of Byzantine authors, who have written at the distance of several centuries from each other: if the orthography of the particular age of each author had been preserved, then this Corpus Script. Hist. Byzant. would, also, have the merit of diplomatic accuracy, which, in our opinion, is not

minimi momenti.

From page 13-20, a short account of Agathias is given. He was born at Myrina in Æolis, on the coast of Asia Minor, probably 536 after Christ. He studied at Alexandria, and went in the year 554, to Constantinople. He possessed some talent for poetry, and wrote a variety of amorous effusions, which he collected in nine books, under the title of 'Daphniaca.' A collection of epigrams, in seven books, was also made by him, of which a great number are still extant; he probably wrote his history after the death of the Emperor Justinian. It contains, in five books, an account of his own times, from the wars of Narses to the death of Chosroe, the king of Persia. His work is of great importance for the history of Persia; he compiled his narrative from Persian authorities, ' ἐκ τῶν παρὰ σφίσιν ἐγγεγραμένων, p. 125. Νο doubt, therefore, but that he understood the Persian language. He writes, perhaps, with more regard for the truth, than poets

VOL. I. NO. II.

2 P

are

are wont to do; but, his style is pompous and full of affectation, and his narrative continually interspersed with common-place reflections. The mediocrity of a bastard time is clinging fast to him; and the highest stretch of his ambition seems to have been to imitate the ancient writers. By faith he was undoubtedly a Christian, and probably prided himself upon his orthodoxy; for when he mentioned that the Franks were Christians, he adds, ‘καὶ τῇ ὀρθοτάτη χρώμενοι δόξῃ. His reminiscences of the Homeric poems supplied him with a large stock of epic words, which swim on the smooth surface of his narrative, like heavy logs (sesquipedalia verba) upon stagnant water. This misapplication of Homeric expressions leads us to suggest, at page 72, instead οἱ · ἐνέπηξε τὰ ὀπίσω τῷ ἐδάφει, ἐνέπηξε τα ἐπίσωτρα τῷ ἐδάφει: the translation slips altogether over the words rà iziow; and page 86, we should write vara instead of the xunμara of the vulg.

From page 336 to 356, follow the notes of Vulcanius; and pages 359 to 398, are taken up with the epigrams, which we should have been sorry to lose in the new edition. The whole concludes with an Index rerum et nominum, and a very useful Index Græcitatis in Agathiæ historias. It is shown that some passages are almost literally taken from Thucydides. We have no doubt, that the work of Agathias is, in point of learning and diction, a fair specimen of the age in which he lived; few men at Alexandria, or at Constantinople, may have surpassed him as a writer. The typographical portion of the new edition is excellent.

ART. XIII.-Coleccion de los Viages y Descubrimientos, que hicieron por Mar los Españoles, desde fines del Siglo XV. Con varios Documentos ineditos concernientes á la Historia de la Marina Castellana, y de los Establecimientos Españoles in Indias, coordinada e ilustrada por Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrete, de la Orden de San Juan, Secretario de S. M., Ministro Jubilado del Consejo Supremo de la Guerra, Director Interino del Deposito Hidrografico, Individuo de Numero de las Reales Academias Española y de la Historia, Consiliario y Secretario de la de San Fernando. Tomo i. Viages de Colon, Almirantazgo de Castilla.-Tomo ii. Documentos de Colon, y da las Primeras Poblaciones. Madrid. 1825.

Collection of the Voyages and Discoveries which the Spaniards made by Sea, from the end of the Fifteenth Century, with various Documents, hitherto unedited, relating to the History of the Castillian Marine, and of the Spanish Establishments

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