o
rescue Lyric Poetry from the contempt in which it has been unjustly held
by Authors of unquestioned penetration, to prove that it is naturally
susceptible of the _highest poetic beauty_; and that under proper
regulations, it may be made subservient to purposes as beneficial as any
other branch of the Art. These facts will indeed be sufficiently obvious
to persons unacquainted with the Ancients, by perusing the works of
eminent _Poets_ of the present age, whose names it would be superfluous
to mention. I dismiss this attempt, and the pieces which accompany it,
to the judgment of the public, with that timidity and diffidence which
the review of so many great names, and the sense of Inexperience are
fitted to inspire. Whatever may be the fate of either, I shall remember,
with pleasure, that they have afforded me an opportunity of testifying
that high and respectful esteem, with which I have the Honour to be,

MY LORD,

Your Lordship's
Most Obliged,
and Most Obedient Servant,

J. OGILVIE.

* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *

Errata (Noted by Transcriber):

a native of Baeotia [_error for Boeotia_]
[Footnote 32] +Hos ephasan Eourai+ [_error for +Kourai+_]
[Footnote 34] +Zeu se men I' daioisin+ ... [_error for +Idaioisin+_]
[Pindar, Pythian X] +Enkamion gar aotes Uumnon+
[_error for +humnon+_]
[Ariosto]
_Le Donne, e Cavalieri, l'arme, gli amore,
Le Cortesie l'audaci impresi io canto._
[_errors for amori ... imprese_]
[Odyssey] +Plankthe+ [_error for +Planchthe+_]
[Footnote 97] Gavina [_error for Gravina_]

Supplementary Notes:

1. Handwriting

The facsimile of the title page includes two handwritten lines between
"Lord Deskfoord" and the author's name:

The last Earl of Findlater who died _1812_ without issue
Title claimed by Sir W^m Ogilvie Bart of Carnousie,
who died Feb 20^th _1861_

The two lines were probably written at different times: the first uses
long "s" while the second had to have been written in or after 1861. The
underlined year "1812" is an error for 1811 (October). The William
Ogilvie (more often spelled Ogilvy) of the second line was born in 1810,
so his claim to the title cannot have been immediate. He does not appear
to have been related to the book's author.

2. Italian

The quotation from Gravina (misspelled Gavina), _Della