BOOK

VI.

The

ALFRED's poetical translations of the poetry in Boethius deferve our most favourable notice. language is allowed to be elegant and appropriate, and worthy of the royal tafte. We will felect a few paffages.

OH! in how grim

And how bottomlefs
A well, laboureth
"The darkened mind;
When it the strong
Storms beat

Of the world's bufinefs.

Then it contending,

His own light

Again lofeth,

And with woe

Forgets the

Eternal joy.

Diftreffed with forrows

Of this world,

The darkness then rushes on ".

THE following is Alfred's paraphraftic address

to the Deity:

OH thou Creator

Of the pure ftars

Of heaven and earth!

Thou on high feat

Ever reignest.

And thou all the swift

Heaven turneft round:

And thro thy

Holy might

The ftars compelleft

That they obey thee.

*

Oh! which on earth

Of all creatures

• Alfred's Boethius, published by Rawlinfon, p. 153,

Obey thy commandments,
As fome

Do in heaven,

With mind and power?
But man alone,
He against thy will
Workest oftnest.

OH! thou Eternal,
And thou Almighty,
Of all creatures

Maker and Governor!

Pardon thy miferable

Offspring of earth,
Mankind,

Thro' the power of thy might.

His complaint of the prevalence of evil is thus

urged:

WHY, thou eternal God,

Wouldeft thou ever

That Fortune

At will

Should turn?

To evil men

Always fo powerful;
She full oft

Injures the guiltless.

Evil men fit

Over the earth's kingdoms

On high feats.

They trample the holy

Under their feet.

To men it is unknown

Why fortune

Should fo revolve woe.

Thus are hidden

Here in the world,

Amid many cities,

The bright arts.

In all times the unrighteous

Have in affliction

CHAP.
IV.

Alfred's Boethius, published by Rawlinson, p. 154.

Serenest in heaven,
Speedily will be darkened

All over the earth

The other stars.

For this, their

Brightness cannot be
Set ought

Against the fun's light.

When mild blows

The fouth and weft
Wind, under heaven.

Then quickly increase
The bloffoms of the fields,
That they may rejoice.
But the dark storm
When he cometh strong
From north and east,
He taketh away speedily
The bloffoms of the rofe;
And alfo the wide fea
The northern tempest
Drives with vehemence,
That it be ftrong excited,
And lashes the shores.
All that is on earth,

Even the faft-built

Works in the world

Will not remain for ever ❝.

WE will add two fhort comparisons of our ve

nerable king:

So oft the mild fea

With fouth wind

As grey glass clear

Becomes grimly troubled,

Then the great waves mingle
The fea whales rear themselves;

Alfred's Boethius, p. 156.

С НАР.

IV.

IN the Saxon Chronicle fome poems are inferted. As the longeft of thefe on the battle of Brunanburh, has been given to the public in an eftimable work, I will only mention another which occurs under the year 975. It was probably compofed at the time.