The works of the Rev. William Thom, late minister ... - waughfamily.ca

,ber'LETTERS, TRACTS, t^T.2JJat the words Horatius, Terentius, &c. thougli notvery commonly ufed. He is far from criticifing thecompofition of any fenfible and fpirited author ; forhe neither envies nor undervalues talents which he isfure he can never reach : Far lefs will he take uponhim to criticife the above letter j for, whatever its author'sfaults may be, they are amply compenfated bythat candid uprightnefs, that unrefsrved and intrepidfreedom with which he writes : And, which redoundsftill more to his praife, and,.muft endear him to everyhoneft man, it hath been fuffrciently vouched that hegeneroufly confented that his letter Ihould be publifned,forefeeing, that as it contains a faiuhful and undifguifedaccount of tlie matter in queRion, it viriiiappear to be a complete vindication of himftlf andtht fociety of which he has the honour to be a mem-; and perhaps he judged fuch a vindication or a-pology to be very necelTary.The publifher iiideed v/iihes that the learned profefTorhad feea fit to write his Letter wlioUy in v/hathe is pleafed to call the vulgar Englijh^ v/ithout interfpei-fingany of his Greek or Latin fentences, becaufethefe have occafioned him fom.e perplexity andtrouble. He was afraid it m.ight be fufpe6led thatunder thefe phrafes was couched fomething myfterious,or driloyal, or even dangerous and heretical.Moreover, it was fuggelied to him by fome gentlemenof difcernment, that the fhreds of Greek andLatin might, in forne places, unlefs they were tranflated,mar the fenfe and meaning of the piece : Hejudged it his duty to fave the author, as far as poffible,from being fo much as fufpefbed of any wrongor unfound opinions \ and he was alfo defirous tomake every word intelligible to ordinary readers. Hetherefore had recourfe to a certain univerfity fcholarwho reforts to his fnop, and prevailed upon him toturn the Greek and Latin into Engiifh : He hath notIkill to judge whether thefe tranfiations be elegant