' BOSWELL. 'The truth is, it is impossible perfectly to
translate poetry. In a different language it may be the same tune,
but it has not the same tone. Homer plays it on a bassoon; Pope on a
flagelet.' HARRIS. 'I think Heroick poetry is best in blank verse;
yet it appears that rhyme is essential to English poetry, from our
deficiency in metrical quantities. In my opinion, the chief excellence
of our language is numerous prose.' JOHNSON. 'Sir William Temple was
the first writer who gave cadence to English prose. Before his time they
were careless of arrangement, and did not mind whether a sentence ended
with an important word or an insignificant word, or with what part of
speech it was concluded.'
GARRICK. 'Of all the translations that ever were attempted, I think
Elphinston's Martial the most extraordinary. He consulted me upon it,
who am a little of an epigrammatist myself, you know. I told him freely,
"You don't seem to have that turn." I asked him if he was serious; and
finding he was, I advised him against publishing.
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