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Quid Creticus sibi vult altero loco? Lege Zugaxorio. Eupolis à Scholiastâ citatus:

Συρακόσιος δ' ἔοικεν, ἡνίκ ̓ ἂν λέγῃ

Τοῖς κυνιδίοισι τοῖσιν ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων.

In Kusteri editione prima vox corrupta in Συρακούσιος.

Thesmophor. v. 234. Βούλει θεάσασθαι σαυτόν ; εἰ δοκεῖ, φέρε Versus unâ syllabâ redundat. Leni mutatione corrige Bouλe deals. Lysistrat. v. 742. et Eccles. v. 369.

Ω πότνι ̓ Εἰλείθυι” [Εἰλείθυια]

Sic utroque loco editum. Sed in Supplemento Emendationum Brunckius ad priorem locum p 178.: "Claudicat versus. Prima in óra nusquam apud Comicum producitur, nec salvâ prosodiæ lege produci potest. Scribendum sine elisione, & Tóτvia Eixelθυν -"ad posteriorem p. 198.: "Claudicat hic versus, eodemque modo emendandus est, ac Lysistr. 742. TóτVIC Εἰλείθυια Τὸ φάρμακόν σου τὴν νόσον μείζω ποιεῖ. Si quid mutandum, malim credere, particulam 'AXX' addendum esse initio versûs. Similis omissio accidit in editione Aldinâ Eurip. Phoeniss. v. 1806. in pluribusque editionibus Comici Av. v. 1693.

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̓Αλλὰ γαμικὴν χλανίδα δότω τις δεῦρό μοι. ut legendum è Schol. ad v. 1565.'

In fragmentis Comici fortasse majorem Brunckii diligentiam requiras. Sed cùm nunc quidem neque otio abundem et abhorreat animus à severo examine hujus partis, paucis observationibus defungar.

Ingura. Pars fragmenti xxI. repetita est in Incert. XLI. Pro ῥήματα-εμβαπτόμενος legendum ῥῆμά τι—ἐμβαπτόμενον ex Athenæo

p. 367.

Aastaλ. III. Si compares Nub. v. 865. 1242. probabiliter mecum corrigas sic:

Η μὴν ἴσως σὺ καταπλαγήσει τῷ χρόνῳ· Fragment. incert. CXXXIII. parodia est Euripidis apud Plutarch. de Isid. et Osir. p. 379. D.

EXTEMPORARY VERSES.

THE following verses were written upon some glass at an inn at Calais by some English gentleman: they were transcribed by the celebrated and Rev. W. Jones, of Pluckley, and were inserted by him at the close of two very agreeable and lively volumes of his Travels. Mr. Jones, though a good natural philosopher, and a great theologian, was not, perhaps, very correct upon subjects of verbal criticism: he felt the excellence of the lines, and therefore he transcribed them; but the writer was evidently a man of great

Tetigit hunc Censuræ Porsonianæ locum egregius censor Homeri Oxoniensis in Critical Review, vol. 87. Jan. 1803. p. 6. In talibus locutionibus etiam ob linguæ usum præferam dórw. V Hemsterhus. ad Plut, v. 1195. G. H. S.

taste and learning, and had been educated, it is apparent, at one of our great public Schools, and therefore I wish to insert these verses, with two conjectural emendations, for the purpose of giving to them that form, which they were likely to receive originally from the pen of a person educated in one of our best Seminaries :

"Eure, veni, tua jamdudum expectata morantur

"Flamina; te votis poscit precibusque viator

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Impatiens, longæque moræ fastidia sentit :

"Intereà ad curvas descendens sæpiùs oras

"Prospicit in patriam, atque avidis procul haurit ocellis,
"Nec faciem dulci de littore dimovet unquam :

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Illic, Dubrenses ad cœlum ascendere colles,

"Excelsasque arcis turres, grandesque ruinas

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Aspicit, et latè saxorum albescere tractus"Nequicquam! videt hæc, nec visa attingere fas est: "Obstat hyems inimica, et vis contraria venti.” Jan. 6. 1812.

P. W.

INSCRIPTIONS.

IF the following Inscriptions are of any value to your

Journal, I shall be happy to forward others occasionally, which I have collected in my late travels in the Mediterranean.

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The above is part of an Inscription on an inverted piece of marble in the Church of the Convent at Parchia, on the Island of Paros.

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The above is an ancient Trough to hold water, in the Church at Parchia: probably once containing the ashes of the persons mentioned upon it.

OXFORD PRIZE ESSAY.

ON AGRICULTURE.

ΚΑΛΩΣ Δ' ΕΚΕΙΝΟΣ ΕΙΠΕΝ, ΟΣ ΕΦΗ ΤΗΝ ΓΕΩΡΓΙΑΝ ΤΩΝ ΑΛΛΩΝ ΤΕΧΝΩΝ ΜΗΤΕΡΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΡΟΦΟΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ.

THE ARGUMENT.

XENOPH. ECONOM.

Primary influence on Man and the face of Nature- POLITICAL EFFECTS→→ increases population-constant resource for the employment of it-prevents the necessity of emigration-Considered as a subject of Commerce-superiority over it-MORAL EFFECTS-promotes patriotism-vigor of mind and bodyindependence—religion-simplicity of character-calm and settled disposi tion-CAUSES which have tended to check Agriculture-principally Govern ment-causes of its imperfection in ancient Greece-State of Agriculture in Rome-Decline of that empire connected with the decay of AgricultureState under the Feudal System-General view of its connection with Government-Conduct of our own Legislature-Abolition of the Game Laws-Inclosure Bill-Other favoring causes in modern times-Commerce-SciencesMechanics-Chemistry-Natural History-Agricultural Societies-Recapitula

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tion of its advantages-Conclusion.

Nihil est agricultura melius, nihil uberius, nihil dulcius, nihil homine libero dignius.

CIC.

PHILOSOPHY has traced the progressive civilisation of man through the several stages of Hunting, Pasturage, and Agriculture. Though he adopted these changes in quest of food only, yet the advantages derived from them have not been confined within the limits at first proposed, but are visible in every improvement which his nature has since received. His appetites, by an involuntary impulse, proved the means of his mental advancement; and, by leading him to discover the facility with which his necessary wants might be supplied, taught him that they were not worthy of being the sole objects of his pursuit. The benefits resulting from the first change were indeed comparatively few, and of inferior value. Although it substituted a certain in place of a precarious subsistence, yet the leisure and opportunities, which were thus afforded for exercising the intellectual faculties, lost much of their efficacy, for want of subjects on which they might be employed. It was like furnishing the implements without the materials: and accordingly we find that the shepherd-state rather sunk the mind into indolence, than roused its energy, or excited its invention. Although the wild tumult of passion, which holds dominion in the breast of the savage, had subsided, yet to the tempest succeeded a calm, equally unpropitious to his progress.

The cultivation of the earth is that important era in the history of man, which gave to him his destined rank in the creation, which first organised society, and laid the foundation of civil polity, and, by curbing his native impetuosity, prepared him for a life of labor and obedience. The permanent divisions of land, together with the evident right each individual possessed to the produce of his own labor, naturally gave rise to those accurate ideas of property, which are necessary for the arrangement of civil society: whilst a reliance on the operation of remote causes for the fruit of his industry, induced a habit of VOL. V. No, ix.

K

prudence, observation, and inquiry. Thus out of lawless confusion and rude barbarity, gradually arose a system of order and refinement. The forest, the desert, and the fen became fertile and salubrious; the tent or the hut became a village; the tribe became a nation; and man seemed at length to have completed his claim to the sovereignty of the world.

Whether Agriculture be an art originally imparted to man by his Creator, and lost by particular tribes through indolence or misfortune, or whether it be the offspring of his own invention, certain it is, both from history and modern discoveries, that its introduction among savage nations has been uniformly attended with these blessings, and that such has been the progress of its effects. When Cæsar's conquests had established its practice, the woods and marshes of Gaul were converted into healthy and fertile plains, and the patient labor of the husbandman soon effaced the ravages of the Roman arms. Those once barren and comfortless regions, which Strabo' has described as almost incapable of producing even the necessaries of life, have long enjoyed the most genial climate and most productive soil. In the same manner, we daily behold the industry of man extending fertility and salubrity over the wilds of America, and subduing even the elements to the purposes of his subsistence.

The extent of its moral and political influence admits also of living, as well as historical testimony; and the well-founded boast of Pliny, that the arts introduced by the Roman conquests had diffused happiness over the earth, is confirmed by evidence of a recent date. The industrious natives of Peru and Mexico, though destitute of most inventions, which had contributed to the refinement of the Eastern world, were found however far advanced in every art, of which their limited opportunities would admit. Under a system of jurisprudence and police the most regular, the social affections were cherished, and the principles of justice and morality revered. And even in those islands far embosomed in the Pacific Ocean, and severed as it were from the rest of the Globe, where Agriculture is practised, subordination, harmony, and gentleness of manners have been seen to prevail. On the contrary, in the centre of science and refinement, the wandering Tartars still retain their pristine barbarity: without industry, without a home, without a country, they are destitute of principle, justice, and law; and they exhibit the singular phenomenon of an insulated tribe of savages, amidst the civilisation of surrounding states.

As this art has been the primary and most powerful agent in civilising mankind, so likewise will it be found the best and surest support of national power, wealth, and happiness.

The vast increase of population, which is the constant result of plenty, adds vigor to the state, and is the foundation of all its comparative importance. Nor is this to be dreaded by any country as a dangerous acquisition; as amassing a burden, which it must either hereafter discharge, or itself become a prey to intestine tumult. The earth is a never-failing resource for the exertions of labor; and as

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superior skill and industry are employed, its produce will be proportionably advanced. A provision is made for the utmost exuberance of numbers: the spade' may even supplant the plough, and additional produce still attend the change. By this secure reliance on internal resources, those tumultuous migrations are obviated, by which the peace of ancient nations was disturbed, their possessions plundered, and their labors disappointed. Never will history again deplore a desolating torrent of invaders, compelled to seek subsistence for their numbers by spreading war and rapine over the world. With far other effects have the settlements of modern times been attended. As they have been uninfluenced by necessity, so have they (except in the instance of a single nation) been unstained by violence. Plenty and instruction have marked their course, and blessings hailed them from every shore.

But when viewed in its connexion with commercial interests, the utility of Agriculture appears most predominant. The commodities derived from this source, consisting chiefly of the common wants of life, can by no accident be deprived of an uniform demand. A power of withholding an article of positive necessity must doubtless give the party which supplies it a superiority in the exchange; while in the process of procuring it, he is unembarrassed by those uncertainties, from which the disposal of many artificial productions is never free. Hence the operations of Agriculture do not stand in need of speculative caution, and the calculation of remote contingencies, but carry with them an ensurance of a sale, with an advantage in prescribing the terms. The produce of manufactures, and the far-fetched luxuries which trade procures, depend so much on the patronage of fashion and prevailing opinion, that their value cannot be with certainty predicted beyond the present day. Hence, in some instances, the enterprises of the merchant are timid and feeble; in others, a bold and hazardous speculation either acquires exorbitant wealth, or sinks into irretrievable ruin. The internal confidence, which an agricultural possesses above a mere commercial state, resembles those mental resources, which distinguish the characters of individuals; which elevate the wise and virtuous above the fickle and the vain. The former, sustained at a constant level, and preserving a steady course, is superior to the caprice of fortune: its welfare is independent of external influence, or the fluctuation of human affairs. no sooner stripped of its gay, delusive splendor, which a gale may dissipate, or the failure of an imaginary credit may subvert, than it declines as rapidly as it rose. The channels of its wealth are diverted, and whole ages of diligence cannot recal the stream. Thus fell the fame and opulence of ancient Phoenicia. Thus have we seen the casual discovery of a Navigator at once drain Venice of her riches and importance: and the celebrated cities of the Hanseatic League* now present a melancholy contrast to their former prosperity.

1 Lord Kaimes's Sketches of Man.
Smith's Wealth of Nations.

3

The latter is

3 Mitford's History of Greece.

4 Smith's Wealth of Nations.

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