the highest interest and importance. Nobody can wish to be misled, or to embrace error if it can be avoided; those therefore who have been inclined to place a confidence in the reasonings and deductions of the two great Scotch Philofophers, are obviously called upon to examine the objections of this Veteran in the fcience. We will venture to say, that fuch readers will find fome objections started, that are infu perable; and fome facts adduced, which, though not admitted in the Huttonian Theory, are placed beyond a doubt, by the obfervations of naturalifts of the first credit and eminence. We fhall mention one instance, in the stratification of Granite.

There are fome books which we think it our business to refute; fome of which we think it proper to give extracts, that the reader may judge for himself, whether he will be at the expence and pains of making himself more acquainted with the work at large; but there are other works, which we have neither the materials to refute if wrong; of which, partial and detached extracts would convey a very imperfect, if not a falfe impreffion, and which from their very nature we are almoft bound to recommend to the perufal of the public, as of prime importance to the fettlement of great and weighty queftions. The prefent publication is certainly of the def cription laft given. Wanting local knowledge of the facts and phænomena defcribed, and much more difpofed to give full credit to the reprefentations of the worthy author, than to queftion or difpute any of his facts, without the fame opportunities of perfonal examination, we can only generally affert, that the impreffion made upon us, is, not only that the Huttonian Theory in particular is exceedingly falfe, but that no fyftem has yet been difcovered or invented, that at all overfets Mr. De Luc's Theory, or invalidates his arguments. The fmall antiquity of our continents, the origin of our mineral ftrata, the nature of the Diluvian catastrophe, and even the first introduction of that marvellous fluid, capable of beginning the process of chemical precipitations, ftrike us with more force, the more we confider them; and we will venture to affert, deferve the deepeft attention from all who feel their minds interested in the fubject. We muft add, that we fear there are but too many who feel no interest of the kind; though in the prefent fituation of things they ought to feel it, and probably would, if they could but be brought to apply their minds to the important matters, infifted upon in the introductory part of this curious volume. We heartily recommend it therefore to their notice. If they fhould be fuch novices in the fcience of Geology as not to underfland the latter part of the book, yet let them carefully, attend to

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 fcience as to be duly prepared to apprehend at the first 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 especially fuch as affign an immenfe and unfathomable antiquity to our con

tinents.

Firft 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 teflimony in its favour, namely, the abfence of human reliquiæ in the ftrata of the present 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 for meafures of time,) indicative of the fmall antiquity of the continents themselves. We need not ftop 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 discovered 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 fucceflion of ftrata of feparated and diftinct fubftances and

contents.

Kk4

Of

Of the actual beginning of fuch precipitations, Mr. De Luc concludes he has difcovered the ftrongest demonftration in the now known neceffity of light, as the producing cause of fire or heat, in itself the indifpenfable caufe 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 process therefore according to Mr. De Luc, is this: the primeval or original ftate of the Globe was fuch that every ingredient of every known subflance was promifcuously blended in one mafs; that elementary fubftance, which combined with light, occafions liquidity, being among the number; as long therefore as light was wanting things remained flationary; but upon the introduction of that elementary 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 difcoverable in the mafs of our continent, however dislocated at prefent, were first formed horizontally, then fhaken and difplaced by ear aftrophes. By one of thefe at laft the fea changed its bed, and our prefent continents became dry land; fubject from tht precife period to the action of natural caufes, as rain, &c. The reader will eafily 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 firft origin of things, ftriftly fo called, for as to light itself, Mr. De Luc does not undertake philofophically to affign itt fource. By tracing things back in the regular course, as far as the most modern difcoveries can carry us, he happens to arrive at this commencement of operations, which ap pears to him peculiarly adapted to explain all that has passed; that is, the original ftratification 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 these philofophers, We can only fay that we have endeavoured as much as poffible to divest ourselves of every bias arifing from the intereft we may naturally be difpofed to take in the main object of Mr. De Luc's researches, and to confider difpaffionately the re fuilt 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 against it in this book, but by the most obvious conclufions of common fenfe, as Mr. De Luc alfo has fhown. It is almoft unneceffary to add, that Mr. De la Fite has admirably performed his task as the tranflator of this curious work; for the correctnefs of which we' have the further pledge of the author's conftant fuperin

tendence,

ART. IX. All the Odes of Pindar, tranflated from the original Greek. By the Rev. J. L. Girdleflone, A. M. Mafter of the Claffical School of Beccles, in Suffolk. 4to. 11. 5s. Norwich, Bacon; Baldwins, London. 1810.

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 reputation, not only for the merit of the work itself, confidered as a tranflation, but for the various and profound learning difplayed in the notes and illuftrations by which it is accompanied. The first at tempt, 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 first Pythian Ode, and Ambrose Philips gave to the public the first and fecond Olympics, or, as he termed them, Olympioniques. Weft'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 Meffiah, 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 fix Olympic Odes omitted by Mr. Weft were fuccesfully tran flated by Mr. Pye, the Poet Laureat, and printed first 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 Talker,

of

of Exeter, tranflated and printed felect Odes of Pindar in 1790. In 1791, the Rev. J. Banifter published a tranflation of all the Pythian, Nemear, 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 fuch an expref-: fion may be allowed, he will have an opportunity, if he withes it, of judging for himfelt 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 English tranflations. We fubjoin, as a fpecimen, the Eighth Pythian Ode.-P. 191.

"" TO ARISTOMENES, OF EGINA, VICTOR IN WRESTLING..

S. I.

"Sweet Peace, foft-bofom'd child

Of Justice, ever mild,

Exalter of great ftates, whofe lovely hand
Unlocks the fecret breaft

Of Council, in deep reft

Grim War compofes with enchanted band;

The Pythian Conqueror receive,

And for his brow thy choiceft laurels weave.

While blooms the feafon fair, well knows thy heart
All bleffings to enjoy, all bleffings to impart.

A. J.

"When Rage tempefts the foul,

And boift'rous billows roll,

Thy pow'rful beams break forth upon the foe,
No more the fails of Pride

Swell o'er the calmed tide,

Mad Infolence beneath the flood finks low:

But ne'er Porphyrion's favage breast,

Whofe law was force, thy gentle pow'r confeft.
Yet foon he saw, his mad attempts how vain ;
The voluntary gift is far fuperior gain :

"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 rever 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 deftroy, but the hero of the ode, a son of Peace, Apollo leads to glory.""