The Fourth Book of Virgils Aeneid and the Ninth Book of Voltaires Henriad

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and the Ninth Book of Voltaire's Henriad, by Virgil and Voltaire
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Title: The Fourth Book of Virgil's Aeneid and the Ninth Book of
Voltaire's Henriad
Author: Virgil and Voltaire
Translator: Anonymous
Release Date: December 20, 2006 [EBook #20144]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
0. START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VIRGIL AND
VOLTAIRE ***
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THE FOURTH BOOK
o f
VIRGIL'S ÆNEID,
and
THE NINTH BOOK
o f
VOLTAIRE'S HENRIAD.
Translated into English verse with a view of comparison

between the Latin, French, and English poetry.
By the Translator of the HENRIAD.
PARIS:
PRINTED BY CH. CRAPELET.

1804.
TO
MONSIEUR DELILLE.
SIR,
After reading with infinite pleasure your masterly translations of Virgil,
I have been led into a train of reflection on the mechanism of words,
and on the manners, the ideas, and pursuits of Nations in as much as
they frequently give rise to the difference of character which we remark
in their language. Few literary discussions would I think be more
curious than an impartial comparative enquiry of this kind.
Not only have the easy elegance and courtly air of your verses
displayed the French tongue in these respects worthy of your original;
but have inclined me to think that they have raised it near the highest
pitch of perfection of which it is at present capable, in the translation of
a Latin poet. After two brillant ages of literature the French language
did not, till you appeared, possess one translation of the great
masterpieces of antiquity, which might fairly be said to have attained
the rank of a classical work: while the English had been long enriched
with such translations of most of them, as will like yours, in all
probability share the immortality of their originals. In the cloud of
critics which superior lustre necessarily attracts, many perhaps were not
sufficiently aware of the peculiar difficulties of your undertaking, from
the nature of the materials which you had to employ, and some not
candid enough to compare the work which you have raised out of them,
with what they had hitherto been made to produce.
That the English language might be so managed as to surpass the
French in expression of strong sentiments, in boldness of imagery, in
harmony and variety of versification I will not be sufficiently hardy to

assert. The universality of the latter must be admitted as a strong
presumption of its general excellency. Yet I cannot help wishing, that
some pen