Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-12-10

In Essay on his Life and Genius Nofes'
SUPPLEMENTS, &c.
BY ARTHUR MURPHY, ESQ.
The first american, from the last London
Edition.
With the Authors last corrections.
AS a brief Recommendation of the above
works 10 those TO whom they may not be al
ready known, the fo!los ing notice OF them
is copied from tic London Review OF the
time when they were first published.
Though" says this Revie1, 1t be
with ths translation OF faci;us That we nave
row to 90, not with the character OF that orl-
rin.l and great historian himself. it would be
difficult, perhaps unnatural and mdecorous,
o pass by the present opportunity ct recog.
nsing tic merit Of that sublime genus, and
i.ining in h general voice Of applause and
ldniration. Cornelius Iacltus, BY rare
felicity of circumstance united In hlmseh
IL those relations, qualities and accomplish
ments, that are requisite to inrn d great ms
iaridn He was of senatorial rank, and IN
lhat order highly distinguished. He ENJOY
eli the Favor f The princes and Seyere'gns OF
The Ciyilized world, and held civil oflces OF
the highest dignity and Importance. lie pos
,cssed a native probity * elevation OF mind
.nd these norie qualities were heightened
,nG confirmed by an haLitual conVersancy
with the history Of the Roman republic, and
an education in the p inciples OF the sublim-
est philosophy. The profoundpess of ms re-
ilectors the precision OF his diction his
iegant and energetic brevily. and aomethlng
remarkabiy picturesque and dramatic IN his
manner, conspirr, with the dignity and I'M
portance OF II, subjects, to clothe his work,
with a nevS, filling bloom, and render his
fame inn.or,al He records the actions, the
ounsc:s, his secret motives of the great &C.
,or- in re greatest political drama that was
ever Exhibited en- the world /; and the HIsto-
~ nf Tsci,us, as is we'll observed by his &C.
.omp!ished translator and critic, is " Philo-
Sophy teaching by example"
The contents Of these volumes seem natu-
ally to Unit o! The following division -
/ A dedication to the RICH, honorable Ed.
rund nurkc ali Essay on the life and geni-'
Is of Tacitus; tie annals of Tacitus, with
supplements ,.;.d an appendix; a genealog'-
cal table, win an index of the CAESARS -.
notes on the annals and appendix, and maps
Of the ancient world as known to the Ro-.
mans, and Of Asia. Q. The history of Taei-
us, with an appendix, and notes to the his-!
Dry and appendix and MAPS OF the city of.
Jerusalem, and Of Italy 8. The celebrated
nd valuable Treatise on the manners OF tae'
Germans, with notes and map Of ancient
iermdn, and the Tie Of Agricola, with
lotes and Biographies! table Of tie places,
.iycrs, sc mentioned in t:i-se volumes
10 these authentic works Of ] ac'ts is added
the dialogue concerning Orstory, Of which
is MIR Murphy i'll note has Justly remarl-
d, The CO nmentators are much divided n
,heir opinions .bout the real author. This
work, they all agree, is masterpiece in the
kind written with taste ard Judgment en-
.eriaining, profound and elegant. But whs-
her ii is to beascribcdto Gaci!us, Qu;nctiiian,
,r any Dtacv person whom they cannot name,
IS I question upon which they have exhausted
store Of learning Air. Murphy, after Civ
.ng an account of the principal arguments
FRO and con, says lii conclusion, although he
scems to lean TO the opinion that it is the
production OF Facltus The dispute is ONO
Importance for, as Lipsius says, whether
Ht give tDC uiaioSuC W SuiHCHIiaii Vi ID de-
titus, no inconvenience can arise. Whoever
was the author, it is performance of un-
common beauty.
MIR Mu ply has given the sense Of his
,uthJr in pleasing and proper style. even
;atched not little of his manner in order
10 do which, in SO long work, it was ncces-
sary TO be master of the whole compass of the
English language. lis notes and supple
merits shew that he is intimately conversant
with Roman antiquity, and with literature in
general He views the objects that pass be-
fore him with the eye Of critic, a moralist.
and politician; and inpartcular he makes
interesting comparisons between the silua-
tons ana characters Of different ancient and
modern tribes and nations
CONDITIONS.
|. The works OF raciius shall be put to
press as soon as a sufficient numrer Of su,
scvipticns shall be obta Fed TO justify it.
2. They shall be printed with new plea