P. 10. L. 7, for then read them
P. 51. L. 28, for dio read sub dio
P. 124. L. 4. for devant, read devant
L. 28. for choises read choisies
P. 152. L. 28, for mari, read mari.
P. 153. L. 25, for omnia read omnia.
P. 154. L. 9, for movement read action
P. 158. L. 17, for first feet, read last feet
P. 196. L. 24, for aken read taken
P. 226. L. 31, for egalize read legalize
P. 229. L. 36, for her; read her,

P. 305. L. 16, for our read of
P. 313. L. 14. for is read are

P. 299. L. 1. for Spectrum beatæ lucis, read Iris, colorum mater!

Componimenti Lirici de più illustri Poeti d'Italia. Scelti da J. J. MATHIAS. 3 vol. Londra. 1803.

1804.

THAT all wrote poetry, the learned and unlearned, was the complaint even of the Augustan age: and the art of printing, by facilitating the means of circulation and the attainment of literary fame, has unquestionably increased this evil. At present, in almost every civilized country, poetry has been so multiplied, that judicious selections become very desirable; and in no cultivated language more, than in that of Italy, because none has longer maintained itself unaltered. At the close of the thirteenth century, (when the learned tongues were corrupted, the modern barbarous and unformed) the Italian phoenix sprung from the ashes of Roman literature. Dante, Cino, and after them Petrarca, not only created the poetical tongue of their country, but brought it at once to full perfection their writings are at this day nearly the standard of poetical composition. Less vigorous than those of slower growth, the language of Italy soon reached that polished maturity, which few others have yet attained. Our own is among the most cultivated; but, three centuries after the days of Petrarch, Waller lamented its fluctuation

'For who can hope, his line should long

Live in a daily-changing tongue?

We write in sand; our language grows,
And, as the tide, our work o'erflows.'

The poets of Italy, numerous at all times, have con

tinued to write in an unvarying tongue for upwards of five centuries; and, though they have left no branch of poetry unadorned, the sonnet and lyric muse have been chiefly cultivated. Their infinite increase has rendered selections so necessary, that many have been published, though none that can be reckoned satisfactory: and we lament, that the production of Mr. Mathias, though it has considerable merit, does not altogether supply the deficiency. The editor, with a certain degree of information concerning Italian poetry, has undertaken this work without rendering himself completely master of the field from which his resources were to be drawn. It is not sufficient to have chosen some striking poetry, or brought to light some latent beauties: what was wanted, was such a judicious selection from a very bulky stock, as might afford, within a moderate compass, an adequate specimen of the whole; and this we have not yet attained. In arranging such a work, different schemes might be adopted: a specimen might be given from every writer who had gained reputation amongst his contemporaries, with a brief account of his literary history; or a standard of merit might be assumed, and every production superior to it might be chosen, without regard to its author. A selection, that united both these plans, would be most valuable and entertaining; extracting more largely from the best writers, and giving a specimen, with a short account of their other works, from those whose fame might appear to exceed their real merit. We regret that Mr. Mathias adopted no regular system. He has omitted altogether several poets of considerable celebrity and excellence; he has extracted largely from some of a heavy vein,