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WORK S

O F

HORACE,

Tranflated Literally into

ENGLISH PROS E.

By C. SMART, A. M.

Of PEMBROKE-COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,

The FIFTH EDITION.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

Printed for T. CARNAN, in St. Paul's Church-Yard,

MDCCLXXX.

PREFACE.

THE

HE following verfion being the work of a man who has made poetry, perhaps, too much the bufinefs of his life, fome account of his motives for undertaking it may feem neceffary. In the firft place, then, there was reafon to believe that a thing of this kind, properly executed, would be very useful to those who are defirous of acquiring or recovering a competent knowledge of the Latin tongue. Secondly, the extraordinary fuccefs which attempts of this kind have met with, though by men who manifeftly did not understand the author any otherwife than through a French medium, and tho' printed in large volumes and fold at a proportionable price, gave fufficient reafon for the translator to hope,

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hope, that his labour would not be in vain ; I fay, labour, for genius, if he had any pretenfions to it, could not have been exerted in the work before us.

Though every line is conftrued almost verbatim, yet absolute baldness has been, as much as poffible, avoided.

The learned reader need not be informed that this verfion was not intended for him; though some of the most eminent of that character have condefcended to examine the manufcript, and given it the fanction of their approbation.

With regard to the Latin text, the best editions have been diligently confulted; and it is prefumed the judicious will find in the following sheets fome emendations and improvements, which have escaped former editors. What errors there may be, either of the prefs or otherwife, will be found, perhaps, of fuch a nature, and fo feldom to occur, that they may be rather of fervice,

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by giving the young student some opportunities of fhewing his fagacity in the discovery of them.

I fhall take leave of my reader in the words of an old poet, which are applicable enough to this undertaking:

Dumos inter et afpera
Scrupofis fequimur vadis
Fronte exile negotium
Et dignum pueris putes :
Aggreffis labor arduus
Nec tractabile pondus est.
Par exanimis æftus eft.
Ceu fublimia differas

Par eft judicii mora
Pompæ gloria vilis est.

TERENT. MAURUS,

N. B. This work will be particularly useful To fuch foreign Gentlemen as are already acquainted with the Latin, and are defirous of being mafters of the English tongue.

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