the former part, and feek help hereafter from the other publications of Mr. De Luc, which are curforily mentioned in the work before us; but of which we could have wifhed to have given a complete and regular catalogue. As this book may certainly, even from our recommendation of it, fall into the hands of many readers, not so versed in the science as to be duly prepared to apprehend at the firft glance the drift and purport of Mr. De Luc's arguments, we fhall fubjoin a brief fummary of fome of thofe important points which he judges it to be poffible to afcertain, in oppofition to most other geological fyftems, but efpecially fuch as affign an immenfe and unfathomable antiquity to our con tinents. First then, Mr. De Luc concludes from actual obfervation as well as from Genefis vi. 13, that at the period of the Mofaic Deluge, the ancient continents by an extraordinary catastrophe fubfided, and the fea retiring from the prefent continents which had previously been formed under the fea, were left dry, and delivered over to the dominion and refidence of Noah's pofterity. This circumftance has immediately one remarkable teftimony in its favour, namely, the abfence of human reliquiæ in the ftrata of the prefent conti nents. Secondly, as the prefent continents were thus delivered over to man at a given period, and from that moment fubjected to the operation of natural caufes acting on them, certain effects of fuch caufes he conceives to be ftrictly measurable, and capable therefore of being appealed to as actual chronometers (or measures of time,) indicative of the Small antiquity of the continents themfelves. We need not stop to enumerate these chronometers as we would rather wish to excite an attention to the works in which they are difcuffed. They are befides in fact to be found in fome former volumes of our Review; fee the fix Geological Letters, addreffed to Profeffor Blumenbach, in our Volumes ii. 231.351. iii. 180. 226.467. 589. iv. 212. 328. 447. 569. v. 197. 316. Thirdly, the diflocated and confufed condition of the ftrata, as they have been difcovered to us in fundry parts of the globe, are attributed to the catastrophes taking place under the fea, previously of courfe to the prefent continents becoming dry land, hence mountains and vallies, lakes, &c. Still however every thing ferves to prove that originally the ftrata were all formed horizontally, and this by chemical precipitation from a liquid; the only procefs capable of accounting for the fucceffion of strata of separated and distinct fubftances and contents. Kk 4 Of Of the actual beginning of fuch precipitations, Mr. De Luc concludes he has difcovered the ftrongeft demonftration in the now known neceffity of light, as the producing caufe of fire or heat, in itfelf the indifpenfable cau'e of that condition of things, which is effential to chemical precipitations. M. de Sauffure's difcovery of the ftratification of Granite tends to the establishment of this fyftem. The procefs therefore according to Mr. De Luc, is this: the primeval or original ftate of the Globe was fuch that every ingredient of every known fubftance was promifcuoufly blended in one mafs; that elementary fubftance, which combined with light, occafions liquidity, being among the number; as longtherefore as light was wanting things remained ftationary; but upon the introduction of that clementary fluid, liquidity took place, and chemical precipitations became poffible: among the bodies fucceffively diftributed at the bottom of the fluid, Granite takes the lead. All the ftrata now discoverable in the mass of our continent, however diflocated at prefent, were firft formed horizontally, then fhaken and difplaced by cataftrophes. By one of thefe at laft the fea changed its bed, and our prefent continents became dry land; fubject from that precife period to the action of natural caufes, as rain, &c. The reader will cafily fee how directly this carries us back to the Mofaic records, but here it must be noticed, that this is not any prefumptuous attempt to explain or defcribe the first origin of things, ftri&tly fo called, for as to light itself, Mr. De Luc does not undertake philofophically to affign its fource. By tracing things back in the regular courfe, as far as the moft modern difcoveries can carry us, he happens to arrive at this commencement of operations, which appears to him peculiarly adapted to explain all that has paffed; that is, the original firatification of the Globe. That the latter has fince been fubjected to catastrophes none deny, but as to the nature and effect of fuch catastrophes they differ, and none more than Dr. Hutton and Mr. De Luc. The former thinks that the high parts of our continents have been elevated; the latter that the low parts have fubfided; but our limits will not admit of our going minutely into any detail of the differences fubfifting between thefe philofophers. We can only fay that we have endeavoured as much as poffible to diveft ourfelves of every bias arifing from the intereft we may naturally be difpofed to take in the main object of Mr. De Luc's refearches, and to confider difpafionately the refult of his obfervations and remarks, and we cannot fcruple to declare, that independent of every other confideration, the Huttonian theory feems to us to abound with infuperable difficulties, difficulties, and to be contradicted not only by the geological facts and phænomena alledged againit it in this book, but by the most obvious conclufions of common fenfe, as Mr. De Luc alfo has shown. It is almost unneceffary to add, that Mr. De la Fite has admirably performed his task as the tranflator of this curious work; for the correctness of which we have the further pledge of the author's conftant fuperintendence. ART. IX. All the Odes of Pindar, tranflated from the ori ginal Greek. By the Rev. J. L. Girdlestone, A. M. Mafer of the Claffical School of Beccles, in Suffolk. 4to. Norwich, Bacon; Baldwins, London. 1810. 11. 5s. A TRANSLATION of the Odes of Pindar is indeed an arduous tafk, requiring a combination of qualities and accomplishments hardly to be expected from a fingle individual. The attempt, therefore, has never before been made, except partially. What has been done in this refpect by Weft defervedly retains the highest repuration, not only for the merit of the work itfelf, confidered as a translation, but for the various and profound learning difplayed in the notes and illuftrations by which it is accompanied. The firft attempt, if we are not mistaken, was made by Cowley, who tranflated, or rather paraphrafed, the fecond Olympic, and firft Nemean Ode. The fourteenth Olympic of Pindar to Afopichus, of Orchomenus, appears in the works of Hughes, edited by Duncombe, 12mo. 1739. Walter Harte paraphrafed the firft Pythian Ode, and Ambrofe Philips gave to the public the first and fecond Olympics, or, as he termed them, Olympioniques. Wefi's two volumes fucceeded next in 1749; they were republished in 1753, and a third time in 1766. This publication was pre-eminently fuperior to all of the kind which preceded. A fmill volume, or rather pamphlet, was printed at Oxford in 1751, containing tranflations of Pope's Meffi h, and the Splendid Shilling of Philips, into Latin, with the eighth Ifthmian Ole of Pindar into English. The celebrated and unfortunate Dr. Dodd tranflated and publifhed four Odes of Pindar in 1767. The fixOlympic Odes omitted by Mr. Weft were fuccefsfully tranflated by Mr. Pye, the Poet Laureat, and printed firft by White, in 1775, and afterwards, with his Poems, by Stockdale, in 1787. In 1778, Edward Burnaby Greene tranflated all that were omitted by Mr. Weft and Mr. Pye, and with no inconfiderable portion of vigour. The Rev. William Tafker, of of Exeter, tranflated and printed felect Odes of Pindar in 1790. In 1791, the Rev. J. Banifter published a translation of all the Pythian, Nemean, and Ifthmian Odes of Pindar, except the fourth and fifth Pythian Odes, and thofe Odes which were tranflated by Mr. Weft. From that period to the prefent, we can fpecify only fome partial efforts of the kind. Having thus placed before the reader all the competitors for fame in this moft difficult region, if such an expreffion may be allowed, he will have an opportunity, if he withes it, of judging for himfelf on the relative merits of the candidates. The prefent work indicates confiderable powers of every kind, and may be confidered as a valuable acceffion to the body of Englifh tranflations. We fubjoin, as a fpecimen, the Eighth Pythian Ode.-P. 191. "" TO ARISTOMENES, OF ÆGINA, VICTOR IN WRESTLING, S. I. The Pythian Conqueror receive, And for his brow thy choiceft laurels weave. While blooms the feafon fair, well knows thy heart A. J. "When Rage tempefts the foul, And boift'rous billows roll, Thy pow'rful beams break forth upon the foe, Swell o'er the calmed tide, Mad Infolence beneath the flood finks low: But ne'er Porphyrion's favage breaft, Whofe law was force, thy gentle pow'r confest. "Egina being well regulated with regard to laws, and bleft with peace, the poet begins this Ode with a beautiful addrefs to Peace." "V. 20. The Voluntary.] This alludes to fomething I have never feen fatisfactorily explained. The inftance feems abruptly introduced, but Pindar's meaning I conceive to be, that Peace and Justice will in time prevail over lawless Force; that the fons of Force the gods destroy, but the hero of the ode, a son of Peace, Apollo leads to glory.'" E. I. "Time and avenging Pow'r confound Pride and her lawless fons ; The vaft Typhoeus falls to ground, His hundred giant-heads; Apollo's dart Our hero o'er the Delphic land To Glory leads, his brows with laurel crown'd, While loud the Dorian fongs of victory refound, "This ever-favour'd ifle S. 2. 30 That glory, which in earlier days' Rofe o'er the helm of Æacus, ftill plays With beams unquench'd on all the martial line, And Victory's brighteft wreaths on many a hero fhine. 40 A. 2, "Their ever-honour'd name The golden trump of Fame Speaks loud to men. Time bids my Muse respire, Nor to their various praise Unceafing pour her lays; 45 Her voice would fail to charm th' exhausted lyre ; Sated would nod. But Glory's new-fledg'd wing, Champion! thy fresh blown laurels bears on high, E. 2. "Th'athletic contests with bright crown Thy kindred heroes grace. 50 Thy fteps purfue the high renown Which beams on all the race. They with ftrong limbs the garland grafping held 55 High o'er th' Olympian and the Ifthmian field. "V. 26. Pierces the tyrant.] Porphyrion, Alcyoneus, or Ephialtes: it feems uncertain which was meant." V. 52. Thy kindred] Theognetus and Clytomachus." Such |