The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-20 00:00:00

" BOOK VII.

" A very general prejudice lissprevaled against
the last six books of tie ,Eneis, utt which we are
now entering, as altogether interior, in matter
and in execution, to the six that precede them. I
call it a prejnolice, as 1 an) satisfied that it rests on
no solid loimdation ; and is-to be overthrown by
a just-consideration of the nature of all works like
the yEneis, and by an impartial perusal of the
hooks which are thus slandered. Of every long
narrative poem,' some parts ~mill necessarily shine
above the-rest ; and, where there is much variety
of snbieeti one topic. will be more accommodated
to the taste of the particular leader than another
The sacking of an imperial City.; the death of a
Queen, devutibg herself on the tunerel pile under
the impulse of Wive ; the descent oftiehero to the
regions of the dead, with a display of all the ter-
rors and the joys ot tot linty; are.stihjects of peen-
liar interest and magnificence. Aim of the con-
nexion of a long poem they could only form
certain portitt'os or-links ; anti, if the impression
of their brightness he to destrOy the effect ot the'
concatenated work, the inevitable fate of the Poet
if to be lamented, and he is to he eonsidered as
falling ti:e necessary victim'of his osvn arnbAon
and greatness. If the reader, in short, .will be
satisfied with nothin:e which is not intensely pa-
thetic or proudly sublime, he must be contented
with an impeller' poem, and must snspend his
perusal of the ./Eneis when• its hero has passed
through the ivory gate. IW' the last six books of
the All:neis possess as essential a place in time syin-.
metrftef the poem, as.the six-which areestationed
.heforri them. They containJtideedethe principal
ot the action; and, %vitt) tibmidant.and
prop:isle excellence, they will lie fonod as fully:
adequate to the occupafioa of the Places assigned
to them in the great work, a, those which they.
succeed. If we examine them, we shall discover
that, besides ite perfect adaptation to theielan of
the Poem, each book is licit in variety ; :mud : is
distinguished by its discriminated character and
healitieS. It, Ihe seventh, the arrival ,of
in the Titters the description of the'Coart of LA-
the dreadful eruption of the Fury to con-
found the league and supply probable motives for
the war ; and, lastly, the critaloctie of the forces,
most strike every reader as ilrt . productions of,
poetry, delieliting its with ether4beettiiirl, the:
:griand, and the 'picturesque. 1.110.
1,1;liole episode of EvaNDER must doi,versally. be
telt as charming ; 4,and the shit,!;;; fkbriecated by.
VULCAN, with its Romaii change.; as-. well as the
workshop and the workinti of tube ert;,l..god,.
'cannot
_be Otherwise than aditared::-TU the
the uffecting,sto: y of Atstrs'aud-Obill'ALUS Colll4.
mallicatci - a peettliar3iutereSC%? Tit .014 i tenth? ,a!
battle between a disentliatleing.aretiyhand ati:arn,y,
upon the shore, a bat tle •silerta the.' deaf hs
PALLAS,- LAL:aUS, and' M FACKTEUSi and it) which.
the Pitatitudi that ‘VittdraVi'S• litcp•S from the
field is tuosrepreetically coneehethisucl.'delineated;
arrests our attenl ion with its nottulty.and. import-
ance. To. this bpok, also, a catalogue eee
Tuscan auxiliaries gives ornament..ande vatiely.
The eleventh vet y Ntk;inges 'US :Wit ;the
funeral cif Paeials, the dissensionsAyletite Latin
Couneil, •equesftiansonfliCt,.anathe death of
‘Catatt...t..A. And tie twelfth,. distinguAltetie:by tis
sodden_yhtniees of fortune, and its great opulence
of matter, ena,±; jusitybe CL.asskt, With referencepoetic t merit and t tier::, vcifh;the adMirted
. . , • to
beoks of the poen).
It z.he—tcader IM oliicc.lto the ateneithinee.7,,t
fightingV tit the s,,ng'ilitiaiy t;I:
1,1" sitiltiOVFl', %Ville)) occurs divitionof the
Jae now,t be reminded, that stroll 'are the
favourite subjecei ot heroie ~ong ; (114 t the.„
battles were Aistutically as. well as.prietically no.
ees,ary for' the great catastrophe of the poem ;
that their- variation is relieved with a remarkable
variety of CIITIIIIISRIOCC! I arid tint they are con--
fitted to 'the lust four hoele, of the poem ; of
which, after all, they _occupy, (-tile only, •enrirely.
whilst they leave a large portion ot the lestnain-•
ing three to incident of a dittt,retit titmice. It it
tilut.t be allowed-that 'the battles, which cons; rate
the hulk of tic Pius, are. superior to thine in
the ZEneis ; and that ItoNteu describes the
conflict like a spectator of the tiod, when Vlnotte
arrpyed his troops anti mixesthent in combat' as'
lie sitting in his study, still most it be gmtved
that aft battles its the liStais are finely conceived,

[PRICE SEVENPF,NC r 4

and admirably delineated, and that (here is more,
of what painters style keeping in these war pieces,
a more just subordination of power and effect in
their several parts, than is discoverable in those of
the Gredian 114 rd. Whei.e, then, are we to look
for the imputed interiority of this last half of the
./Eneis ? It any where, it 'Must be found in the
less perfect revi.ion which it ,has received : in
hat part of it which belongs to the mechanical
Wild not to the ideal process. The mind of the
l'oet prevails equally throughout its whole ex-
tent : but the careleatiess Of his band may ocea-
t•rionally be traced in-it. It might probably have
;been brought to a higher polish : but the feat-
hiVe been achieved only by VIRGIL, him-
self. On this subject MYtkia arid TRAPP have
prefixed some' very judicious remarks to this
sevrilth book ; and to them 1 will refer my
-Learned or
,my English Reader, observing only
th.at this portion of the 'Er/cis stand, not in need
of 'the' support of any -Critic;-•and requires no-
thing more, for the attAinment of its i;lat praiseil
than a fall. and impartial examinatint)."

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.

-,- - ;

OXFORD, MARCH 19.—Yesterday the Remains:
ofvthe Lord Bishop or PRTERROftoUGH were pri
vately interred in the Chapel ut Bailiol College,;
in this University.
Tire Rev. Benjamin. Parsons •:Symons, M. A.
Fellow .of Wadhunt College, and the 4c.v. cl-
vverd Cardwell, M. A. Fellow of Brasenose
lege, hai/6-betni appointed Public Exioniners.

The follf!vring Degrees have been conferrvd:—.
The Rev. Chas. Valeutine-Le (;rice, M. A. of Trinity Ca-
lege, Caiubridgr, admitted ad vandtm.

BACHELOR IN CIVIL. LAW.
Iter. Robert Allen, Fellow of New Cuikge.

MASTER (?F ARTS.
Rev. William <<':►tson Dickha, of nerton College.
John Rodhard I3.►in of 011.14 Church.
Charles SerasesDiekins, of Oriel C..pllcice.
Rev..lohn Rat Bingham, of Billie ►ose College.
Rev. James 'Betts, of 'Trinity Col►ege.

BACHELORS OF ARTS.
Hoshinc, of Brasenose•College.
Thomas Welch Hunt, ,Esq. of Christ Church, Grand Coin-
pot:oder.
Thomas George Cinbett,.of Christ Church.

ECCLESIASTICALTREFIZnMRNTS.
The Rev. J,,ho Maddj,, D-.D: to the Rectory;
of Ilitt test with Boxlegd, in Stiff,,ik ; and .the
Rev. Thomas• Strong to the Rectory of Theber.:
(nu, in the same coin y, both on, the presenta-
tion of the Crown.
The Rev. EL D. Berners, LL B. to the Arch-
dekieont y of-Sutfolk, by die Lord Bishop of Nor-
wich, the same ;being in his Lordship's gift.
,The Rev. Edmund Gray, B A. has been insti-
tuted, on the i+resemation of Charles Doncroobr,
to the tiectory of Kirby Misp:Jton, in York-
shire, vacant by the death of the Rev, John 'Dere
Thumls,
Lord Viscount Anson has appointed the 'Rev.
W. 11. BackL'bury House,
one of his Lord,bip'sDonstip

Th.c How, ind G,,,Penew to the Vicarage
of. Lasio.g., Essex p,ttron, the King,
morgAt), of Trioily Coikty,e,
11,ontatoo, Lecture, on Soothiy ntorilihg, at St.
Mary's. Mr. Page, of lirasenose Collet;:', Son-
ritty afternoon, at, St. Peter's. Mr. Rathbolie,
the Atintiocialion, at New College.