with the great instrument of the man of genius, his native language, dooms them.  It will be found, indeed, that the three most remarkable examples of early authorship, which, in their respective lines, the history of literature affords—­Pope, Congreve, and Chatterton—­were all of them persons self-educated,[63] according to their own intellectual wants and tastes, and left, undistracted by the worse than useless pedantries of the schools, to seek, in the pure “well of English undefiled,” those treasures of which they accordingly so very early and intimately possessed themselves.[64] To these three instances may now be added, virtually, that of Lord Byron, who, though a disciple of the schools, was, intellectually speaking, in them, not of them, and who, while his comrades were prying curiously into the graves of dead languages, betook himself to the fresh, living sources of his own,[65] and from thence drew those rich, varied stores of diction, which have placed his works, from the age of two-and-twenty upwards, among the most precious depositories of the strength and sweetness of the English language that our whole literature supplies.

In the same book that contains the above record of his studies, he has written out, also from memory, a “List of the different poets, dramatic or otherwise, who have distinguished their respective languages by their productions.”  After enumerating the various poets, both ancient and modern, of Europe, he thus proceeds with his catalogue through other quarters of the world:—­

    “Arabia.—­Mahomet, whose Koran contains most sublime
     poetical passages, far surpassing European poetry.

“Persia.—­Ferdousi, author of the Shah Nameh, the Persian Iliad—­Sadi, and Hafiz, the immortal Hafiz, the oriental Anacreon.  The last is reverenced beyond any bard of ancient or modern times by the Persians, who resort to his tomb near Shiraz, to celebrate his memory.  A splendid copy of his works is chained to his monument.

     “America.—­An epic poet has already appeared in that
     hemisphere, Barlow, author of the Columbiad,—­not to be
     compared with the works of more polished nations.

“Iceland, Denmark, Norway, were famous for their Skalds.  Among these Lodburgh was one of the most distinguished.  His Death Song breathes ferocious sentiments, but a glorious and impassioned strain of poetry.

     “Hindostan is undistinguished by any great bard,—­at least
     the Sanscrit is so imperfectly known to Europeans, we know
     not what poetical relics may exist.

     “The Birman Empire.—­Here the natives are passionately
     fond of poetry, but their bards are unknown.