Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1842-09-02


N OF 20 TAR 80 10 deetroy what little doubt remaiu.
when he says II is In the hast doubtful Thi,ex-
ample, then, cannot destroy the least doubt. bu,
VIII 60 TAR 70 shake that ieas, doubt f 20. and he
must invent some form OF expression for the guam
tIy OF doubt which remains, after mi, exsmpl.
has gone Jar to destroy the least doubt, our yoea,-
larry Is in,unieient to And term cor il. Blu, lei a,
point 10 The ptopEiey add elegance fthe expression
Writing 10 tongue. Among those who rather en-
poy their time practising u,op the rnn rim, vhe
teaches TO pluck the be im out Of ones own eve.
before you hnd The mote in anoiher's" we should
have met wth different form OF expression; more
tlegans. certainly They would sAy-wtiIing in
language, or speaking in tongue. But they
might nave been wrong, and doubtless this critic
would have said they could not write English Bu,
LET Us proceed 10 the last elegant and propern enc
cimoo Of English he affords u.s. see how ~,
sentences Of "Strclos" arc constructed and
they consist He proposes to show the ts, mar,
graph o'te Essay proix, involved and
obscure, by quoting and citing for that express pur
pose, or oy way oil illustrating this FRS, ph
sentence That is not far cG Now this h eonei m
Joe MilleT's best. Here is "a critic who pronounees Y
cetheda upon style ond composition, proposing TO
illustrate the otscurity OF ono sentence. and the
pfohx'y winch marks II by citing a sentence that
has TO connexion with the one commented upon lint
only does not lie faroG SO much for his stvlr and
HIS capacity for writing English with proprety ard
elegance. We wish sincerely that his criticism was
obnoxious TO no other objections than would afford
he"lmcst IN anolyzing them. He hos read this
precisely with the same haste and inat,cntion. It.
Indeed he read It Of ALL with which he perused the
story OF Hugh Glass, who crawled on M, h,,lv for
some orty days and nights. or thereab bouts and who
Tor 'n's wonderful achievement, no, only b,comes
hero himself but the narrator of his sorv comes in
Tor a large portion of "Strictots" praise .'Parya
ieves cepiunt animos" says the maxim.
IN 'h's l'i-,imed has,s the merits Of so phosophi-
cal production ms this Essay, have entirely escap
ed him. u, indeed, under the most careful perusal
he could have appreciated them. lie has therefore
win an objectionable and shameless inneeutnev
torn portion Of sentence from its context, for tho
purpose OF sustaining his structures, and has sue
cfeded IN making the dismemb cred CLAUSE read AZ
Insensby as tho criticism to which il gives occasion
ms nmpu,ated clause the only one he ouotes At
all is the unfortunate sentence which unluckilv for
US consistency, chances not to be far Off from The
obscure paragraph, and is taken 10 illustrate ne mo-
hhny' we propose TO quote the whole sentence.
anc we feel assured that "Strictorp will he olopc
10 considering 1t nsensible. I; mus, be uoderstood
ihat Inc author OF the Essay is endeavorins, by
hos' 3eau'iln', novel and ngerious hypothesis TO
show how much the diversified character OF their
country contributed TO humanize and refine the
hhhns oil the Greeks, and that the sense of a com.
mon origin disposed the different tribes thot from
ume TO time, took possession Of the country to har-
mon 70 more readily. These things facilitated the
rnpid increase in science and wealth, which marks
hehis'ory OF these people. The author says "Thus
VIC sec, IN consequence Of the nature OF The soil a
country inhabited by many different tribes which.
e'o'i nchhoVleuseu themselves as nation,
hnu oy thls consciousness OF their relation facii,at
cd commerce among themselves." "By that means
hn ekehanse OF IDEAS was effected, which created
mat hveliness, activity-and favoured nv the han.
pest natural gifts OF the bitants-,hnt admifa
DIE ufecian genius, on which still gaze with
rapture This is the whole sentence. The mart
quoted in n garbed form TO suit the nurposes of
"Strietor," concluded with the word themselves
IL IS only necessary to supply the other men b,r 10
make the sentence complete and perfectly clear nd
ineligible. ~
We shall conclude ly quoting at length, that
all may see and judge for themselves, that "proix
and obscure" FIRST paragraph adverted TO in ouch
e,r'ng terms OF censure. IL may be taken as spe-
cimen OF the whole production and il will be IA rj
Y necessary TO ask all get the Essay itself. and
read 1t. Before doing this however, we must quote
"uhout comment, the closing paragraph OF this
critical, eegan: and correct naive English writer
that It's beauty and elegance may contrast with the
"hrst paragraph adveIied to-" Stcicior concludes
by say'ng-"Not having time to praise or ensure
The poetry in this No. OF the Messenger, that
agreeable task Is for tho present LAID UPON the
TABLE"
The Essay opens with the following beautiful
and ianoiiul sentence "rhere is land in the East
where tho sun rises earlier and burns in brighter
glow than on these Western shores. A dark blue
heaven expands over it in smiling serenity. and DO
holds It's glory in the mirror Of the sea; innumerabc
rvnIets roll their waves in soft murmurngs along
Their beds and fertile, the neghboring fields; ret-
ed valleys invite us TO happy abode and the o fly
grove on the mountain height cap,ivaes our feelings
10 bend before the Holy being, whose breath rustles
IN lie trees and when the drives his chariot over
H. will he not stop the flight of his fiery s:eeds-to
by nature, but which are made yet more bcautf
by the hand OF man-ior il is Greece Of which
speak-lhe land of ingenious activity the cradle Of
nrt" O.