The Planter's Guide

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: conversant with the true principles of translation, which had been so fully and learnedly laid down and treated in a work of Lord Monboddo on that subject. These principles he states and defends in his preliminary essays; and there is no question that we have presented to us, in his own admirable translation of Sallust, not only the true meaning, but the spirit of the author, conveyed with equal fidelity of version and eloquence of language. This work has always been distinguished for correctness of rendering, elegance of diction, combined with clearness and nervousness of style. By the publication of this work, which appeared in 1806, Sir Henry at once attained a high place as an accomplshed scholar and author in the literary world. While employed on this work, Sir Henry usually spent the winter in Edinburgh, where he mixed with the literary society for which the Scottish metropolis was then distinguished. He there became acquainted with most of the learned and scientific persons of the day, among whom maybe mentioned the Honourable Henry Erskine.Dr Gregory, Professor Robison, Mr Alison, Lord Woodhouselee, and the well-known author of The Man of Feeling, Henry Mackenzie, to whose father Sir Henry's mother had been married after the death of her first husband, which event occurred in 1772, during Sir Henry's residence in Germany. After the completion of the preliminary essays and notes to his translation of Sallust, Sir Henry transmitted the MS., previous to publication, to Lord Woodhouselee, on the truth and justice of whose opinion of the work he could implicitly rely. The following extracts from a letter of Lord Woodhouselee, on returning the MS., as containing the opinion of that accomplished scholar, will not, we trust, be considered out of place: ? Edinburgh, 19(A ...