BRUTUS. Porcia, go in a while; And, by and by, thy bosom shall partake The secrets of my heart. All my engagements I will conftrue to thee, The dictionary was confulted for the word conftrue; and thus, according to the usual form, one may suppose it to have stood: To conftrue; to interpret. This not serving the purpose, to interpret was next fought; there he finds, to interpret or to explain; again with indefatigable industry, excited by a defire to excel all tranflators and tranflations, he has recourse to the article to explain; under this head he finds, to unfold or clear up; fo away goes the tranflator to clear up the countenance of Brutus. Va, mes fourcils froncés prennent un air plus doux. "Go;" fays he; " my frowning brow shall take a fofter air." There are so many grofs blunders in this work work it would be tedious to point them out; but it is to be hoped they will deter other beaux efprits from attempting to hurt works of genius by the masked battery of an unfair tranflation. Mr. Voltaire defires that by his tranflation all Europe will compare the thoughts, the ftile, and the judgment of Shakespear, with the thoughts, the ftile, and the judgment of Corneille. It is difficult, perhaps impoffible, to make the graces of ftyle pafs from one language to another; and our blank verfe cannot be equalled by French blank verfe. The thoughts might in fome measure have been given, if the translator had understood the words in which Shakefpear had expreffed them. Upon the judgment of the authors in the choice of the story, in the conduct of it, in exciting the fympathies belonging to it, in the fashioning of the characters, in the noblenefs of fentiment, and representation of Roman manners, we fhall upon close examination of the Cinna and Julius Cæfar be able to pro nounce. As As the fubject of the drama is built on a confpiracy which every one is affured had not any effect, and the author has fo conducted it as to render the pardon Augustus gives the confpirators an act of political prudence, rather than generous clemency, there is not any thing to intereft us but the characters of Cinna, Emilia, and Maximus. Let us examine how far they are worthy to do fo as set forth in this piece; for we have no historical acquaintance with them. Emilia is the daughter of Toranius the tutor of Auguftus, who was profcribed by him in his triumvirate. As we have not any knowledge of this Toranius, we are no more concerned about any cruelty committed upon him than upon any other man, so we are not prepared to enter into the outrageous resentment of Emilia, especially as we see her in the court of Auguftus under the facred relation of his adopted daughter, enjoying all the privileges of that distinguished fituation, and treated with the tenderness of paternal love. Nothing fo much deforms the femi nine character as ferocity of sentiment. Nothing fo deeply ftains the human character as ingratitude. This lady, however odious fhe appears to the fpectator, is made to engage Cinna her lover, who is a nephew of the great Pompey, in a confpiracy against Auguftus. Shakespear moft judiciously laboured to fhew that Brutus's motives to kill Cæfar were perfectly generous and purely public-spirited. Corneille has not kindled Cinna to his enterprize with any fpark of Roman fire. In every thing he appears treacherous, base, and timid. Maximus, the other confpirator, seems at firft a better character; but in the third act he makes a moft lamentable confeffion to a flave, of his love for Emilia, and his jealousy of Cinna this flave gives fuch advice as one might expect from fuch a counsellor; he urges him to betray his affociates, and by means of a lie, to prevail upon Emilia to go off with him. Thus Maximus becomes as treacherous and bafe as Cinna his friend, and Emelia his mistress. The poet follows Seneca's Seneca's account of this affair in making Livia (who has no other business in the drama) advise Auguftus to try the effect of measures of clemency, as his punishment of former confpiracies excited new ones. Auguftus tells her fhe talks like a woman, treats her counfel with fcorn, and then follows it. Auguftus appears with dignity and sense in the other fcene, and is the only perfon in the play for whom one has any refpect. This is the plan of a work which is to shew Corneille's genius and judgment fuperior to Shakespear's. As Mr.Voltaire has given his tranflation of Julius Cæfar, I will just prefent to the reader a literal tranflation of the first scene of the first act, which begins by a foliloquy. ་ CINNA, TRAGEDIE. ACTE PREMIER. SCENE PREMIERE. EMILIE. Impatiens défirs d'une illuftre vengeance, Dont la mort de mon pére a formé la naiffance, Enfans impetueux de mon reffentiment, Que |