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ence of a tax, might apply. To that board let the father tranfmit evidence of the number of his children, and claim those privileges which a wife people ought to bestow on the fruitful parent. One of the firft philofophers in Europe, who has enriched the age by his difcoveries in nature, told me that he had been obliged to relinquish almost all correfpondence with learned foreigners, because the expence of poftage was too great for his fmall fortune. This is deplorable! A generous people ought to refund to fuch a man, a fum equivalent to his difburfements in the caufe of fcience and difIt is a debt due by a people.. covery.

Wr. Thomas Christie

London

Critical Remarks on the Othello of Shakespear, continued from page 62.

SHAKESPEAR has adorned the hero of this tragedy with every virtue that can render human nature great and amiable; and he has brought him into fuch trying fituations, as give full proof of both. His love for Defde

mona is of the moit refined and exalted kind; and his behaviour, upon the fuppofition of his falfe return, is an indication of his great fpirit, and fuch as might be expected from his keen fenfe of honour and warlike character; though naturally fufceptible of the tendereft paffions, yet being engaged from his early youth in fcenes that required the exercife of thofe of a higher nature, he has not learned

-Thofe foft parts of converfation

That Chamberers have.

-Rude (says he) am I in fpeech,

And little blefs'd with the fet phrafe of peace. His manners have nothing of that ftudied courtesy which is the confequence of polite converfation-a tincture of which is delicately fpread over the behaviour of Lodovico and Gratiano; but all is the natural

effufion of gentlenefs and magnanimity. His generous and foaring mind, always occupied with ideas natural to itself, could not brook, according to his own expreffion, to fudy all the qualities of human dealings, the artifices of intereft, and the meannefs of fervile attentions. To a man like Iago himself, the affected intereft which he takes in the welfare of his mafter, profound as it was, muft have been very fufpicious; but to Othello it is the effect of exceeding bonefty! His enlarged affections were used to diffuse happiness in a wide circle, to be pained with mifery, and displeased with injustice, if, within his view; but he did not confider the small proportion of mankind that was infpired by fimilar fentiments; and therefore the parade of Iago was in his eyes unbounded generofity.

With fo much nature and dignity does he always aft, that, even when diftorted with angry paffions, he appears amiable.

Emil. I would you had never feen him.

Def. So would not I; my love doth fo approve him, That even his stubbornnefs, his checks, and frowns, Have grace and favour in them.

A character of this kind commands refpect; and in his actions we naturally intereft ourselves.

Iago, who is the prime mover of the events of this tragedy, is a character of no fimple kind; he poffeffes uncommon fagacity in judging of the actions of men good and bad; he difcerns the merit of Caffio to lie more in the theory than in the practice of war. Rodorigo he comprehended completely: the amiable nature of Desdemona he was not ignorant of: he often praises the free and noble nature of Othello; the beauty of Caffio's life he felt with much regret; and he is fenfible of the intrinfic value of virtue, as well as its eftimation among men; he knew well, that, without virtue, no folid or lafting reputation could be acquired; and, without doubt, he understood the force of Caffio's feeling reflections on this fubject, though he makes an appearance

of defpifing them. Iago, it must be observed, artfully affumes the character rather of ftrong, than of high and refined benevolence. In the fecond fcene of the firft

act he says,

With the little godliness I have,

.

I did full hard forbear him. A character which he knew would be more eafily fup--ported, which would render him less liable of being supposed acting from pride, and confequently create no envy; content for the present with the humble appellation of boneft creature, he found fufficient amends in the profpect of being recompenfed with double interest in the accomplishment of his plans.

In his first interview with Othello, Iago begins his deep scenes very fuccefsfully, by labouring, with bold and mafterly cunning, to imprefs him with a strong fense of his fidelity and attachment to his interests; he represents himself as fuftaining a difficult conflict be tween two of the best principles, regard to his master, and a fear of feeming to act with a malicious cruelty. He fpeaks like a perfon fired with anger that he cannot contain; he does not give a detail of Brabantio's proceedings like an unconcerned fpectator, but in that confufed and interrupted manner worthy of the trueft paffion; his reflections, which, according to calm reason, ought to come laft, according to paffion come first. The scene which occafioned his paffion is over; he then revolves in his thoughts the nature of it; and, laftly, the part which he ought to have acted, takes poffeffion of his mind. In this last state, he finds himself when he meets Othello, perplexed in deliberating whether he ought in confcience to do contrived murder. Having difburdened himfelf of this, the fubject opens in his mind; he goes backward, and defcribes what were his sensations, in a very ftriking manner

Nine or ten times

I thought to have jerked him under the ribs.

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The fumes of paffion are now fuppofed to be diffipating; and the cause of his anger, and reflections, he unfolds more clearly, but in the fame enraged and animated ftrain.

Nay, but he prated,

And spoke such scurvy and provoking terms
Against your honour,

That with the little godlinefs I have,

I did full hard forbear him.

Having fully vented himself, he begins now coolly to urge fome prudential arguments with regard to Othello's conduct in this critical affair :

But I pray, Sir,

Are you faft married? For, be fure of this,
That the Magnifico is much belov'd,

And hath in his effect a voice potential,

As double as the Duke's: he will divorce you,
Or
put upon you what reftraint or grievance
The law, (with all his might to inforce it on,)
Will give him cable.

Having managed his part in the fucceeding transactions of this scene with the fame kind of propriety, the busy rafcal makes hafte to act in a very different character with Rodorigo.

To be continued.

On the prevailing Rage for inventing new Names. WITHOUT entering into the confideration of the first origin of words, it is fufficient for our purpose here to obferve, that after certain founds have been appropriated to denote certain ideas, it will ever afterwards happen, that when men find it neceffary to invent new words for expreffing new ideas as they arife, they will not employ mere arbitrary founds for this purpose, but naturally choose to compound words in thofe ways they can, by the help of thofe elements of speech already established. But as the compounding of words

is often a troublesome procefs, even this alfo will be avoided where it can be easily done. If a word has been invented in one language to denote the idea, those who employ another language, and who have accefs to know that word, will naturally adopt it, inftead of forming a new one for themselves. In this manner, words pafs from one language into another in great numbers; so that it is impoffible to find any civilized nation which has not in this manner borrowed a great deal from the languages of others who have preceded it, or with cotemporaries, with whom they keep up a continued intercourse.

In forming compound words, however, it must always happen, that the ideas which prevail at the time, will influence in the choice of the elements employed to form the words. Thefe ideas may in time appear to have been falfe and ill founded; but the words, when once formed, will continue to be employed as proper names, without being influenced by the obvious original meaning of the elements of which they were compofed. They may even in time come to express things directly incompatible with the idea entertained at the time the words were formed, without occafioning the fmalleft ambiguity or embarraffment to thofe who are acquainted with the use of the language in which these words occur; because, whenever the word is employed, it immediately excites the idea it was intended to denote, without neceffarily indicating the compound idea that influenced in the choice of the simple elements of the words. Thefe therefore are disregarded, or not adverted to.

To give an example,-The Romans at an early period in their fcientifical knowledge, believed that the earth which we inhabit, confifted of a flat surface of great extent, which stretched out much farther from eaft to weft, than from north to fouth. They therefore denoted these dimenfions by the words long and broad. Any diftance, therefore, measured on the earth's

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