The Sun.
London, England, 1804-11-24 00:00:00

111.,:RCULANF,UM MANCISCRIPT3.

The Literary World will. rejoice to learn that the
• Six Volumes of,the Papiri, presented to the Prince
40 Wales by the King of Naples, are arrived in Lin.
dun ; and thus under the immediate auspices of His
;Royal Highneas, the learned and the ingenir'us will
be invited to exert their skill itt endeavouring, not
merely to develope their contents, but to contrive
isorne more speedy and efficacious means than has
been hitherto rit:atti,ed, for enrolling and franscrib.
ing the many Volumes that jet lie in the ashes of
Herculaneum and Potriptii. It is a most important
'event to the cause of Literature' that the Prince has
patromized this undertaking with so .much ardour
and liberality,.since in,no other Country could the re.
sources of science and, art be so well applied, tfc the
aject as in griglatid. Our Artists will vie with
one another in their suggestion of means to facilitate
the decyphering of the nearly obliterated Manu.
kriprs ; arnt it' some happy cOntiivance should be.,
found to preserve the tintlet from 14rishing until'
it can be traced and read, what treasures of Litera.
tore may nut yet be brought to light, and what ho-
nours and 'gratitude will
,not be doe to His Royal
Highness for his noble patronage of the design !
• Our Readers may wish to have a short statement
Of the circumstances that induced the Prince to take
steps to flu flier this Great Work. In the year
r goo, he direded the Rev. John Hayter, a Gentle.
than eminently qualified for the-task;, tog() to Italy,
end with a suitable provisiim, to .exert•himself on
the spot, under the kit d permission of the King
of Naples, to unroll and transeribe the Papirii,
lie was generously moved' to this ut. -! taking by
the !rive of Literature, and by the accounts of the
very slow progress, which,.. up to that time, had
been made in the work of -developing' the MAnu.
ieripts. •

The importance of the undertaking will be best
hewn to our Readeri by an Extrad from the
Letter which Mr. Hayter ailtireticd to the Prince
• it the outset of his mission in f 800 i •A few copies of
which were printed at the and, distributed
imong literary men. •
After a very becoming expression or gratitude to
His Royal Highness for the tumour of his collfitience,
he gives this short narrative

The numerous Settlernetita of the Creeks in Italy re-
ceived the name-of Creecia, becautre their Mother
Mantry was of a sibe. considerably leas than that In which
they were planted ; among these were nearly all the Cities
in the Province of Campania, including Naples, the Capital
of Ins Sicilian Majesty, and also Herculaneum and Porn.
pen, which are supposed to, hoitst a foundation cueval with
Hercules himself, three thonsatni and fifty years, ago, or
twelve hundred and fifty years before 'the Christian. MR.
This Province, more that aey other part orMagna C;recma,
was ways celebrated for the studions and successfn Icu I tiya.
ton of tlre Arts and Sciences. The two Chic's of -Homu.
loneliiii and,Poinpeii ranked next to that of Naples in every
respeef as Alacesof considerable note ; they'had their public
Theetresiewith every other apenclaiit, of great population,
eliletitladWopUlence, and general prosperity.—'These, in
commort'vvith all the rest of Campaina, became the elegant
and favourite tempt of the Itotri.ms, for the different purposes
elhealrht luxury, repose, ant erudition.'
"• I u the ninth your-of Nero's reign these two Cities ex-
perienced a Most formidable shock from an earthquake,
*hich overthrew agreat part of them, Nor had they recd.
'eared ultogether from the effects et this calamity by their own
exertions, and the aid of Imperial munificenceovlien a seco;td
Calamity, of a different nature, bia equally mica peeled, eon.
signed them both at once to the must ccimplere oblivion.,
+ This eigamity was the great eruption of Visstivius, which
happened on the 24111 day of August, twii full months-
from the aecessica ut the Emperor rfines Vespasian. thrice.
laneum was buried under a mass of laval, and volcanic mat.
ter, to the depth of twenty.tour feet, Pompeii, being more
distant front the mountain, was overivhelmed principally
with shower of ashes, not in any place more than half the
depth of tho other City. But the fate of both was sadden
and inevitable; and yet it appears that Minot, all the in.
habitants, and
.what is an equally surprising circumstance,
more of the Herculaneans than the Pompeianspcecalmil,
the tea; skeletons which have been found•in either plade, the'
relation of i)io Cassius, who states the destruelion of the
people, while assembled at the Theatre, is proved to be to.
tally erroneous. It may be proper to remark, ,that before
this eruption the whole of Vesuvius was. in a state of cul Ova.
tion and fertility, from the top to the bottom, and though
the furni and soil of the mountain in one particular spot
seemed to denote the traces of sonic forater explosion, yet no
extant memorial of any kind had recorded it.
" Neither of these two Cities was diseovered again till a
long period of sixteen hundred and thirty.four years had
elapsed. It Was the year im that *Whit labourers,-in
sinking a well, struck their tools against a Statue, which was
on a bench in the Theatre of fierculaneum. Forty years al.
terwanis Pompeii was excavated, with much less diniculfy,
:as the incumbent stratum was neither so bard nor so sleep as
that of the former City.
" The nUmber of the Manuscripts saved frorn both those
Cities is said 16 be about five hubdred ; but, V; am rightly
"informed by those whose official situation must give them a
competent knowledge of the,auhjeCt, Your Royal Highness.
by facilitating the development ut :bete voluniesi will pro.
bably be the means of further excavation, and of rescuing
Irom their tine-intent an infinite quantity of others. About
thirty years Ago 'His Sicilian Majesty ordered The develop.
Runt, the transcription, and the printing of these volumes,
which had been saved, •to be undertaken. This operation
was'accordingly began, and has never heen discontinued till
the late invasion of the French. But, its mode, however ex.
CCIIOI4. Was extremely slow ; it has been performed by a
single person,. with a single frame only, under the direthon
sit the Marquis Del Vasto, Chamberlain to the Xing, and Pte.
f of the Royal Academy.,

. .
The frame c,,ria,: rs tit severat taper and oblong pieces of
'wv 1, with parallel threadhof silk, that run on each Side,
thu koArh of each piece:: when the frame islaid,on any vo-
Lime, each piece of wuott must be fitted ,precisely over each
%int of the page, while the respective threads, being worked
beneath eacit•litie, and assiststl by ti e.eurrespoiating piece of
ihoottabove, raise tine bite upwards,, anti dim:log.llm 'chew-
tort to view t.'
• ,4 The (ipefailtin SiernS ingenious, and welt adapted to the
putptise• it wit, 1 iN11(0/5, 111VeRtell', by a •Capuchin, at
Naples. Pile frints of it are tu he two publications only:
Dee on Music' by the celebrated Philudeinus, who was a co-
--temporary of CiZern ; and the other on Cookery. The first
ix in 1.1,s Alajcay's Library, at thy_ Queen's gioaco, Through
the/obliging
.politeness of Mr, Barnard. the King's Librarian,
1 'have broil the' advantage of perils-41g it. Ihilecti, 1 hope
Your itoyal Highness will not disapprove my acktu,wledging
In this place
.the very warn and
.tespeetful interest which
both this Gentleman and tho *Right Ilonourable the Presi-
dent of the Royal Society, have expressed fot the furtherance
of 'Your Royal I liOltieBo6 wet and good design. Mean;
while, by this E-pt.cilocn of P hi lodennis, I am convincedo4.
if the frame.; should ne multiplied to the purposed extent,
¢everatinages. of thirty ,tliflrcrit Manuscripts t,tttht be di6•
elcisM and within the avice of tine wee
13ut the very at which the illantiscripts were
bit-
* IJ, C—Sitt..
A. 63.
Canis • Meminiti,; It spans )
Lucius Vitginins .‘4-91:131114.
t (J,C, ;132.
•
13.' 70.
Flavius )
C011511)S.
PrituS espunanuo 8 . , • •

:t Front Ow vont of inforaptiion in this Country, I am ap,,
pretiewive that licscription a the frame is rather dela:.
tive. But, Avhcii lam un the !quit, not rAil. to trans.
14it, tnr Youlittuval 11,0itics6's inottet of
its ini.chinisin, an, apprebeniii yr that the saina
cawie :hive ure,i;.iiont-il pait Or ink tic.
intwe, of which I c.,,rtha
10 ii.age Wlll

L(4., ,!()f; Vtintc:i.fq kick'

tied, serves to point out to.Yonr nor.' highness Oat you may,
expect the recovery of either
.the..whole, or at least parts, of
the best IV r.tvrs.in.atiticittity, hitherto deeinert irrecoverable.
All of these, in truth, had writfenbefore that period, if we
except Tiicitus, whose inestimable Works were:nntiartinvael y
not. composed till twenty ) ears :Afterwards, during the r4i4l.
of

• '" 'l4--or can it be imagined for a moment, that among five or
six hundred Manuscripts, already excavated, and ispecially
from the bumberiess . ones which further excavations may
supply, lost at.such a.period, in two of the most capital
ties, in the riebest, most frequented, and Most learned Pro,
vinceOf Italy each of them an established seat of the Arts
and Sciences, each of them the resort of she most distingish.
.1 Romans. not any pay of those illustrious Authors should
be discovered.
- the Manuscript of Philodermis itself makes the re-
verse of such an 414 pyps.ar, much more probable. To the
Modems who have - •
" Untwisted all. the Chains that tic
4a The hidden Soul of Harmony,"
his Treatise on Music cannot indeed be to commu.
nicate much informition ; yet the .subjedt is scientitic„,•aird
scientificativ'tfeated. The Author himself, too, was one of
.the most eminent men in his time for wit, learning, and phi-
losophy. But in the rest of the Arts t and Sciences, in His.
tor*. in Poetry, the discovery of any lost Writer, either in
whole Of in part, would be deemed a. most valuable acqui.
sition and treasure, and form a new sera in Literature.
" • It is extremely fortunate that the charaaers t. of these
Manuscripts, whether they should be G reek or Latin, must
be very obviousr and legible. • Before the year of our Lord, 7g,
.and home time after it,• the. Majusculto or .Unciales,Lit term,
Capital letters,
,were solely used. A page. there tore, in one
at these Manuscripts, would present to fur Royal High-
ness an exaa image of sonic mutilated inscription in those
latiguages on an ancient coliimn, statue, or cepulchre.

There cannot remain doubt, even omit ti mg the Assurances
from men of official situation to that efrea, that Your Royal
Highness's Superintendant will rective every poSsible assist.
ance from the Marquis Del Vast() ; and in that case it-seems
improbable that the object of this ►nission can be altogether
fruitless.

4, With such a termination of it, hoWever, Vont' Royal
Highness, by having proposed to concur with His Sit ilian
Majesty in the quicker and- more elfeElual development,
transcription, and publication of tlieseVanuseri ins, will reap
the satisfaction of haying made a most Prineely attempt in
behalrof knowledge and Literathre„. on an occason where
their interests might he aileeted most materially, and in a
manner of which no annals have alkirtled, or can hereafter
.atihrd, an example. Your very interposition...will' be your
glory : yOur watit of success will only maker.tite• learned
world' feel .with gratitude what you would have clone."
The interposition of His Royal Highness has had
the happiest efFeet. The splendid eucnuragement
'which'he gave to the, work revived the drooping
spiiits of 'lie Italian Literati, and the consequence
has been, •that the business of unrolling and tran.
scribing the Manuscripts now-proceeds with an abb.
crity which promises the must brilliant succeSt„' In
46 years normore than 18 rolls were developed be.:
fore the interference of our:Prince, Under. his:en.
COurageMent ninety have been recovered ,in„,iwo
years I- What new facilities may not now be ex.
peaed, when all the vigour of British intelligence
isuerted on the subjett ? • ,

* It was suggested by Sir Joseph Banks, that, from the
nature of the ancient A tramentitM, which perhaps was not
so much an 'ink as a paint, and from the materials of these
Manuscripts, there may be derived a chance of applying a
chemical process to this development of the cinders, with in-
creased expedition and eltbdt. The suggestion is of the first
importance i hereafter there mly be an opputtuility ut wet.
taming its utility by experiment.

t Par'ticularly the ancient mode or cementing in architec.
ture, and on proportions in Sculpture and Painting.

t One of the principal difficulties in copying these Mane
scripts appears to consist in supplying the proper letters or
words at the different chasms. •

On Saturday the .th instant, a Vessel, apparently
in great distress, cast anchor, during a heavy gale
of wind from the E. and, E. S. E. about a mile
from the shore, between Aldborough and Great
Cowden on the liolderness Coast. On Monday
afternoon, her situation became so dangerous
that the. Crew were observed to take to their boat,
and in a few minutes the Vessel went down, where
she now remains, her'masts;above water. Unfor.
thoately, the boat had not proceeded above a
quarter of a mile before she was struck by a
breaker, and immediately upset, by which me.
lincholy accident the Captain, nite, and five
Seamen,, were drowned. One of the crew was pro.
videntially saved by seizing hold of one of the oars ;
by•which means he floated near the shore, and
was extricated from his perilous ,situationlty a
person from Aldborough, .who was•walking on the
beach, and who dragged him, from amongst the
breakers, almost spent with cold .and fatigue ; but
by proper • care and attention, he was in short
time recovered. The Ship proves to be a Swedish
Vessel, called the Cecilia Marzaretherbbound from
Demme to Lisbon with corn ; and had eighofeet
Water in her hold when she first anchored. The
bodies of one of the men and a boy have been
thrown on shore, near Arwick, and decently in.,
terred. Had they cut from their cables and run.
the Vessel ashore, the whole of the crew •wouldi,
in all probability, have been saved. At the time
the above Vessel ,foundered, a !rig was at anchor
a. short distance froM her, but owing to her own
dismantled state, and the heavy sea, she was unable
to afford the unhappy sufferers the smallest aisift.
once. It is remarkable, that, two pigs, which' Were.
onboard the wreck, swam from the Vessel through
"the breakers, and reached the shore, in safety,
and were shostly afterwayds taken on the Leach,
by some persons who witnessed, the melancholy
catastrophe. The hats of five of the unfortunate
men have been picked op on shore, and • ano.
flier body has. been found near Gar tore. The
,Coast for several days 'presented ti: truly sisstressing,
scene, being literally covered with pieces of wreck
from which it is inferred, that very,.ettensive
chief has been occasioned amongst the shipping to
:the Southward.
. ,

" To be in Fortune's way," is a very common
toying ; yet iv it an adage of more importance than
!rimy imagine. 'File best mode, perhaps, of prov.
ing it,! is .by asking—Can any good result from
Nei being in the mild to. the Temple of the blind
goddess ? Do people itvgine that the skier rain
F.)rtunes or, that they - spontaneously vegetat-
.from the earth ? Now, to he. indisputably in the
way of• nutty chances,. at least, of meeting good
`Fortone, is to be in a,Lottery; and men uovrecee
I iittedly a rich one,as that which is announced for
j;tottitry't Drawing, may fairly- he'said to be in- a
ihroad turnpike road that leads, to supreme wealth.
The little payment of an ',lire toll ~pens time gate,
and entides each adventurer to journey
.in the
path, where Fortune is tti be.foutid,waittog fok her,
,vot.tries. htleil as Ca1111Ot• Clearly p,:rceirtt this, are
incre blind than the aiddessitche•f.

it 1) lIA. R It I It, Jot NO.' 4, Maititc.to:unit, r.'•

i. a