I Hury Thomas Braithwack CONSIDERATIONS ON MILTON's EARLY READING, AND THE PRIMA STAMINA OF HIS PARADISE LOST; TOGETHER WITH EXTRACTS FROM A POET OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. IN A LETTER то WILLIAM FALCONER, M.D. FROM CHARLES DUNSTER, M. A. PRINTED BY AND FOR JOHN NICHOLS, BALLY, BATH; DEIGHTON, CAM- BRIDGE; COOKE, OXFORD; AR- CHER, DUBLIN; AND LAYNG, EDINBURGH. 1800. 1 VEREOR Ne, dum ostendere cupio QUANTUM VIRGILIUS NOSTER EX ANTIQUIORUM LECTIONE PROFECERIT, ET QUOS EX OMNIBUS FLORES VEL QUE IN CARMINIS SUI DECOREM EX DIVERSIS ORNAMENTA LIBAVERIT, OCCASIONEM REPREHENDENDI VEL IMPERITIS VEL MALIGNIS MINISTREM EXPROBRANTIBUS TANTO VIRO ALIENI USURPATIONEM. AT QUIS FRAUDI VIRGILIO VERTAT, SI AD EXCOLENDUM SE QUÆDAM AB ANTIQUIORIBUS MUTUATUS SIT? CUI ETIAM GRATIA HABENDA EST QUOD NONNULLA AB ILLIS IN Opus SUUM, QUOD ETERNO MANSURUM EST, TRANSFERENDO FECIT NE OMNINO MEMORIA VETERUM DELERETUR: QUOS, SICUT PRÆSENS SENSUS OSTENDIT, NON SOLUM NEGLECTUI VERUM ETIAM RISUI HABERE JAM CÆPIMUS. DENIQUE ET JU DICIO TRANSFERENDI ET MODO IMITANDI CONSECUTUS EST, UT QUOD APUD ILLUM LEGERIMUS ALIENUM, AUT ILLIUS ESSE MALIMUS, AUT MELIUS HIC QUAM UBI NATUM EST SONARE REMUR. MI MACROB. SATURNAL. vi. 1. MY DEAR SIR, New Grove, Nov. 1, 1799. AMONG the various obligations which I owe to your friendship, the advice you gave me, when firft I became much an invalid, "to have always fome literary object in purfuit, but not of a fatiguing kind," is not one of the leaft. I have found the best effects from it ; and, in forming from defultory reading collections for illuftrating the works of our great claffic and divine poẹt, I am confident, that I have paffed through many hours of invalid langour and morbid oppreffion with infinitely lefs fenfibility of them, than I should have done, if devoid of fome fuch mental occupa tion. B The |