and humane surgeon, who wounds only to heal,) dictated by a just regard for the honour of God, and indignant grief excited by the profligacy of the age, and a tender compassion for the souls of men. His favourite topics are least insisted on in the piece entitled Table Talk; which therefore, with some regard to the prevailing taste, and that those, who are governed by it, may not be discouraged at the very threshold from proceeding farther, is placed first. In most of the large Poems which follow, his leading design is more explicitly avowed and pursued. He aims to communicate his own perceptions of the truth, beauty, and influence of the religion of the Bible,-a religion, which, however discredited by the misconduct of many, who have not renounced the Christian name, proves itself, when rightly understood, and cordially embraced, to be the grand desideratum, which alone can relieve the mind of man from painful and unavoidable anxieties, inspire it with stable peace and solid hope, and furnish those motives and prospects, which in the present state of things, are absolutely necessary to produce a conduct worthy of a rational creature, distinguished by a vastness of capacity, which no assemblage of earthly good can satisfy, and by a principle and pre-intimation of immortality. At a time when hypothesis and conjecture in philosophy are justly exploded, and little is considered as deserving the name of knowledge, which will not stand the test of experiment, the very use of the term experimental, in religious concernments, is by too many unhappily rejected with disgust. But we well know, that they, who affect to despise the inward feelings which religious persons speak of, and to treat them as enthusiasm and folly, have inward feelings of their own, which, though they would, they cannot suppress. We have been too long in the secret ourselves, to account the proud, the ambitious, or the voluptuous, happy. We must lose the remembrance of what we once were, before we can believe, that a man is satisfied with himself, merely because he endeavours to appear so. A smile upon his face is often a mask worn occasionally and in company, to prevent, if possible, a suspicion of what at the same time is passing in the heart. We know that there are people, who seldom smile when they are alone, who therefore are glad to hide themselves in a throng from the violence of their own reflections; and who, while by their looks and their language they wish to persuade us they are happy, would be glad to change conditions with a dog. But in defiance of all their efforts, they continue to think, forebode, and tremble. This we know, for it has been our own state, and therefore we know how to commiserate it in others. -From this state the Bible relieved us :-When we were led to read it with attention, we found ourselves described.-We learnt the causes of our inquietude,- -we were directed to a method of relief,- —we tried, and we were not disappointed. Deus nobis hæc otia fecit. We are now certain, that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. It has reconciled us to God, and to ourselves, to our duty, and our situation. It is the balm and cordial of the present life, and a sovereign antidote against the fear of death. Sed hactenus hæc. Some smaller pieces upon less important subjects close the volume. Not one of them, I believe, was written with a view to publication, but I was unwilling they should be omitted. JOHN NEWTON. CHARLES SQUARE, HOXTON, 6. Translations, from Madame Guion; Vincent Bourne ; the Latin and Italian Poems of Milton; the Latin of Owen; Greek Verses; and from the Fables of Gay. The Translations from Madame Guion appeared with the following Title, Dedication, and Preface. LONDON-PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON AND CO. NO. 72, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. PREFACE. It seems needless, if not impertinent, in an obscure individual, to say any thing in praise of the Author of the Task. It is of more consequence to inform the reader of the circumstances that have led to this publication. About twenty years ago, a very dear and venerable friend' introduced me to the truly great and amiable Mr. Cowper. This gave rise to a friendship, which increased with every repeated interview; and for several years I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with him every week. At length this delightful intercouse was terminated, by his removal to a distant situation, and the painful approaches of that event which dissolves every social connexion. One day, amusing myself with the poetical works of the celebrated Madame Guion, I was struck with the peculiar beauty of some of her poems, as well as edified with the piety and devotion of which they are strongly expressive. I mentioned them to Mr. Cowper; and, partly to amuse a solitary hour, partly to keep in exercise the genius of this incomparable man, I requested him to put a few of the poems into an English dress. Afterward, during my absence upon a journey, I received a letter, in which Mr. Cowper says, "I have but little leisure, strange as it may seem. That little I devoted for a month after your departure to the translation of Madame Guion. I have made fair copies of all the pieces I have produced on this last occasion, and will put them into your hands when we meet. They are yours, to serve as you please; you may take and leave them as you like, for my purpose is already served. They have amused me, and I have no farther demand upon them." On my return, Mr. Cowper presented me with these translations, to which he added the Letter to a Protestant Lady in France, and the Poem on Friendship. 1 The Rev. John Newton, Rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, London. The idea of printing them was afterwards suggested to Mr. Cowper; and he gave his full consent, intending to revise them before I should send them to the press. Various circumstances prevented him from doing this; and the poems would probably have still remained unpublished, if it had not been found that several copies of them had already got abroad. The editor, therefore, had reason to believe, that they would otherwise have made their appearance in a state far less correct than if printed from the original manuscript. Nor can he imagine that, even in their present form, they will, on the whole, tend to diminish the well-deserved reputation of their excellent author. To infer that the peculiarities of Madame Guion's theological sentiments were adopted either by Mr. Cowper or by the editor, would be almost as absurd as to suppose the inimitable translator of Homer to have been a pagan. He reverenced her piety, admired her genius, and judged that several of her poems would be read with pleasure and edification by serious and candid persons. I have taken the liberty to add the Stanzas subjoined to the Bills of Mortality, which had been published a few years past at Northampton; and the Epitaph, which had appeared in a periodical publication. They sufficiently mark the genius of their author, correspond with the other parts of this small volume, and have not before been printed in a uniform manner with his poems. WILLIAM BULL. NEWPORT-PAGNELL, |