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FACSIMILE OF A LINE OF A LATIN POEM FOUND AT HERCULANEUM.
We have the satisfaction to present our readers with a fac-simile
018 line of a Latin poem, found
unongsl the papyri, and unrolled
under the direction of a learned
gentleman now at Palermo, under
the patronage of an illustrious per-
sonage. For its authenticity we
pledge our credit with the public,
which we think cannot be doubted,
when we subjoin to this great lite-
rary curiosity the comment of the
learned gentleman himself.
" It is part of an epic poem in
Litin. There are only nine verses
in a page : in the verses a few let-
ters are wanting : each verse is writ-
ten at its full length ; and as it is
hexameter, and in a large charac-
ter, forms an extensive line, espe-
cially as there is a full-stop after
each word : the manuscript itself is
very imperfect, and furnishes the
latter part only of the respective
pages. From this circumstance,
and from the number of lost verses
which appear necessary to supply
the sense between the last verse of
one page and the beginning of a se-
cond, I conjecture that two-thirds
of a page are wanting : these, per-
haps, may be found afterwards ;
and indeed it may not seem unrea-
sonable to expect such an instance
of good fortune, after having dis-
covered, in a similar case, the two
parts of Polystratus, as I mentioned
in a former letter. The verses are
about seventy : that of which the
fac-simile is given is the last. This
verse proves that the poem is not
ended here. The cross under the
first word seems to denote the num-
ber of the book. The name of the
writer may be in that part of the
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