He
acknowledges to have received 'elegant translations' of many of them
from Mr. James Elphinston; and some are very happily translated by a Mr.
_F. Lewis_[665], of whom I never heard more, except that Johnson thus
described him to Mr. Malone: 'Sir, he lived in London, and hung loose
upon society.' The concluding paper of his _Rambler_ is at once
dignified and pathetick. I cannot, however, but wish that he had not
ended it with an unnecessary Greek verse, translated also into an
English couplet[666]. It is too much like the conceit of those dramatick
poets, who used to conclude each act with a rhyme; and the expression in
the first line of his couplet, '_Celestial powers_', though proper in
Pagan poetry, is ill suited to Christianity, with 'a conformity[667]' to
which he consoles himself. How much better would it have been, to have
ended with the prose sentence 'I shall never envy the honours which wit
and learning obtain in any other cause, if I can be numbered among the
writers who have given ardour to virtue, and confidence to truth[668].'
His friend, Dr. Birch, being now engaged in preparing an edition of
Ralegh's smaller pieces, Dr. Johnson wrote the following letter to that
gentleman:
'To DR. BIRCH.
'Gough-square, May 12, 1750.
'SIR,
'Knowing that you are now preparing to favour the publick with a new
edition of Ralegh's[669] miscellaneous pieces, I have taken the liberty to
send you a Manuscript, which fell by chance within my notice.
Pages:
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252