The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 1, December, 1835Various
General
The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. II., No. 1, December, 1835
Various
American literature -- 19th century -- Periodicals
The clothing of modern ideas in a language dead for centuries, is a
task whose difficulty can never be fully appreciated by those who have
never undertaken it. The various changes and modifications, which,
since the Augustan age, have come to pass in the sciences of war and
legislation especially, must render any attempt similar to that which
we are now criticising, one of the most hazardous and awkward
imaginable. But we cannot help thinking that our author has succeeded
_à merveille_. His ingenuity is not less remarkable than his
grammatical skill. Indeed he is never at a loss. It is nonsense to
laugh at his calling Quakers _Tremebundi_. _Tremebundi_ is as good
Latin as _Trementes_, and more euphonical Latin than _Quackeri_--for
both which latter expressions we have the authority of Schroeckh: and
_glandes plumbeæ_, for bullets, is something better, we imagine, than
Wyttenbach's _bombarda_, for a cannon; Milton's _globulus_, for a
button; or Grotius' _capilamentum_, for a wig. As a specimen of Mr.
G's Latinity, we subjoin an extract from the work. It is Judge
Marshall's announcement in Congress of the death of Washington.
"Nuncius tristis, quem heri accepimus, hodierno die nimium certus
advenit. Fuit Washingtonius; heros, dux, et philosophus; ille,
denique, quem, imminente periculo, omnes intuebantur, factorum
clarorum memoriâ duntaxat vixit. Quamvis enim, eos honore afficere
solenne non esset, quorum vita in generis humani commodis promovendis
insumpta fuit, Washingtonii, tamen, res gestoe tantoe extiterunt, ut
populus universus Americanus, doloris indicium, qui tam latè patet,
deposcere suo jure debet."
"Rempublicam hancce nostram, tam longè latèque divisam, unus ferè
Washingtonius ordinandi et condendi laudem meret. Rebus omnibus,
tandem confectis, quarum causâ exercitibus Americanis proepositus
fuerat, gladium in vomerem convertit, bellumque pace lætissimè
commutavit. Cum civitatum foederatarum Americanarum infirmitas omnibus
manifesta videretur, et vincula, quibus Columbi terra latissima
continebatur, solverentur, Washingtonium omnium, qui hancce nostram
proeclaram rempublicam stabiliverant, principem vidimus. Cum patria
charissima eum ad sedandos tumultus, bellumque sibi imminens ad
propulsandum et avertendum, vocaret; Washingtonium, otium domesticum,
quod ei semper charum fuit, relinquentem, et undis civilibus, civium
commoda et libertatem servandi causâ, mersum, haud semel conspeximus;
et consilia, quibus libertatem Americanam stabilem effecerat,
perpetua, ut spero, semper, erunt."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account