T is now more than two Months fince I had Thoughts of returning you your LONGINUS; but the Attendance of my laborious Province having hitherto prevented my taking down fuch Memorabilia as occurr'd upon my Perufal, I must beg the Favour of a little longer Forbearance. In the mean Time, having met with Mr. PEARCE's last Edition, I shall have a a ANNOTATION S. OBS. I. THE various Editions of LONGINUS περὶ Ὕψως. The first that brought it to light from MSS. was Francis Robortellus of Udine in Italy, printing it at Bafil in 1554. And in the very next Year Paulus, Son of Aldus Manutius, knowing Nothing of the former Edition, published it at Venice from the MS. of Beffarion. According to which Edition of Manutius, Francis Partus of Crete form'á 8 his, have the Pleasure of comparing it with your's published by GABRIEL DE PETRA, and from both will, from Time to Time, as my Leifure permits, prefent you with my Extracts, which I'm perfuaded, not from myself, but on the Account of the favourite Critia of the learned World, can't fail of affording you a very pleafing Amusement. And whereas you have frequently been pleased to express your Opinion of Abridgments, Compendium, Memoria Gratia, quo brevius eo venuftius, I shall do my utmost to give you LONGINUS's Meaning in the most concise and plain Man ner. In Pursuance whereof, I call this my first Letter, and enter immediately, upon An A BS ΑΝΝΟΤΑΤΙΟΝ S. his, printed by Crifpinus in 1570. Which laft was followed by most other Editors. But the first that tranflated it into Latin, was Gabriel de Petra, Greek Profeffor of Laufanne, printing it with the Greek, at Geneva, 1612: which Edition was republish'd with many very learned Annotations by Gerard Langbenius, atOxford, in 1638; and by Tanaquil Faber, with a few pleafant ufeful Notes, at Saumur in France, 1663. It will be better, fays Mr. Pearce, to fay Nothing of the Bulloign Edition, 1642, than to fpeak ill of it. A long Time after, viz. in 1694, Jacobus Tollius at Utrecht publifh'd it with a new Latin Verfion, the Greek Text being amended from MSS. and Conjectures, with all the foregoing Notes collected and augmented with his own. After which, in 1710. and again in 1718, the judicious Mr. J. Hudson publifhed his at Oxford, reducing Tollius's Version inte fhorter Periods, and omitting his and all other Notes, except what were purely critical. By the Affiftance of all which Editions, together with all the MSS. and other Helps that could be procur'd, the Reverend and Learned Mr. Z.PEARCE, (now the prefent Lord Bishop of Bangor, 1755.) has prefented us with the most accurate and beautiful Edition of Longinus, as well in refpect to the Greek Text as the Latin Verfion and Notes, the World will perhaps ever fee. The 2d Edition was printed at London by J. Tonfon, in 1732. An ABSTRACT of LONGINUS's LIFE. DIONYSIUS LONGINUS, a Grecian, flourish'd in the Days of AURELIAN the Roman Emperor, about the Year of Chrift 278; but who his Father was, and the particular Place of his Birth, is uncertain. His Mother's Name was PHRONTONIS, Sifter of CORNELIUS PHRONTO, Plutarch's Grandfon, a famous Rhetorician at Athens, who, when he died, made LONGINUS his Heir. Certain it is, in his Youth he travel'd with his Parents into divers Countries to improve himself in Literature, and convers'd with the greatest Men of that Age; among whom were AMMONIUS and ORIGEN, as himfelf teftifies in a Fragment of his that happens to be preferv'd. After which, at Athens, be taught Oratory and Philofophy, and had among others the great PORPHYRY for his Scholar; Where in a fhort Time he arrived to fuch Honour and Reputation for his Ability in Criticifm, that he was publickly employ'd to determine which Writings of the Ancients were Genuine and which not: And Such was the Deference paid to his Judgment, that then, and then only, was the Opinion of others concerning Authors b Authors Standard, when confirm'd by LONGINUS's. His Fame thus daily increafing, he was at length fent for by ZENOBIA, the famous Queen of the Palmyrenians in Syria, to be the Director of the Studies of her Sons: But fhe foon perceiving his Skill, not only in Books, but in the Arts of Peace and War, made him ber chief Secretary of State. Which Poft prov'd bis Ruin: For ZENOBIA, who after the Death of her Husband ODENATHUS, had filed herself Queen of the Eaft, and had by LONGINUS's Counfel fought with the utmost Bravery against the Romans for her own and ber People's Liberty, being at length befieged in ber City Palmyra, and anfwering the Emperor AURÉLIAN's Letter for Surrender too sharply; that Prince, when he had conquer'd her, was Jo mean as to revenge himself, by putting to b ANNOTATION S. OBS. II. THE Authors phon, Zoilus praifes, cenfurce, or mentions in his Treatife on the Sublime are 47. viz. Efchylus, Ammo nius, Amphicrates, Anacreon, Α. pollonius, Aratus, Archilochus, Arifteas, Ariftophanes, Ariftotle, Bacchylides, Cecilius, Callifthe nes, Cicero, Clitarchus, Demofthenes, Lycias, Æfchines, Arithenes, Eratofthenes, Eupolis, ftides, Ifæus, Timarchus, IfoEuripides, Gorgias Leontinus, crates, Demofthenes, Crithinus, Hecateus, Hegefias, Herodotus, and Xenophon, He's s Hefiod, Homer, Hyperides, Ion ΠΑΥΛΟΣ ὁ Ταρσεύς, ὃν τινα Chius, Ifocrates, Lycias, Matris, j węŵróv prijs wgoisameror dayMajes, Philiftus, Phrynichus,Pin- μare avaπodríxls, Add to thefe dar, Plato, Sappho, Simonides, PAUL of Tarfus, whom Į Sophocles, Stefichorus, Theocritus, mention as the chief Supporter Theodorus,Theophraftus, Theopom- of an Opinion not yet fully depas, Thucydides, Timæus, Xeno- monflrated. death death many of her Friends, and among the reft LONGINUS, as believing him to have dictated the aforefaid Answer: Who by his Eloquence, in this Calamity, comforted his Affociates, and bebaved himself with all imaginable Fortitude, dying as fublimely, as he had wrote. FLAVIUS VOPISCUS tells us the Purport of Zenobia's Letter was as follows--ZENOBIA Orientis Regina AURELIANO Imperatori Romano. - NEMO adhuc, præter Te, quod pofcis, Literis petiit Virtute faciendum eft, quicquid in Rebus bellicis eft gerendum. Deditionem meam petis, quafi nefcias Cleopatram Reginam perire maluiffe, quàm in quâlibet vivere Dignitate. Nobis Perfarum Auxilia non defunt, quæ jam fperamus; pro nobis funt Saraceni, pro nobis Armenii. Latrones Syri Exercitum tuum, AURELIANE, vicerunt; quid igitur fi illa venerit Manus, quæ undique fperatur? Pones profectò Supercilium, quo nunc mihi Deditionem, quafi omnifariàm Victor, imperas. The Subftance of LONGINUS's last Words to his Affociates was faid to be- SI Terra non aliud quàm magnus quidam Carcer exiftimari debeat, eum feliciffimum effe prædico, qui primus in Libertatem vindicetur. Thus fell the Sublime LONGINUS, the greatest of all Critics, and fuch a One as even his Contemporaries did not fcruple to name--Βιβλιοθήκην τινὰ ἔμψυχον καὶ περιπατῶν Μεσεῖον, A living Library or moving Receptacle of all Arts and Sciences. |