separation, it afforded no light whatever ;— that, while some of its details could never have been published at all, and little, if any, of what it contained personal towards others could have appeared till long after the individuals concerned had left the scene, all that materially related to Lord Byron himself was (as I well knew when I made that sacrifice) to be found repeated in the various Journals and Memorandum-books, which, though not all to be made use of, were, as the reader has seen from the preceding pages, all preserved.

As far as suppression, indeed, is blameable, I have had, in the course of this task, abundantly to answer for it; having, as the reader must have perceived, withheld a large portion of my materials, to which Lord Byron, no doubt, in his fearlessness of consequences, would have wished to give publicity, but which, it is now more than probable, will never meet the light.

There remains little more to add. It has been remarked by Lord Orford', as "strange, that the writing a man's life should in general make the biographer become enamoured of his subject, whereas one should think that the nicer disquisition one makes into the life of any man, the less reason one should find to love or admire him." On the contrary, may we not rather say that, as knowledge is ever the parent of tolerance, the more insight we gain into the springs and motives of a man's actions, the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed, and the influences and temptations under which he acted, the more allowance we may be inclined to make for his errors, and the more approbation his virtues may extort from us?

The arduous task of being the biographer of Byron is one, at least, on which I have not obtruded myself: the wish of my friend that I should undertake that office having been more than once expressed, at a time

1 This description applies only to the Second Part of the Memoranda; there having been but little unfit for publication in the First Part, which was indeed read, as is well known, by many of the noble author's friends.

when none but a boding imagination like his could have foreseen much chance of the sad honour devolving to me. If in some instances I have consulted rather the spirit than the exact letter of his injunctions, it was with the view solely of doing him more justice than he would have done himself, there being no hands in which his character could have been less safe than his own, nor any greater wrong offered to his memory than the substitution of what he affected to be for what he was. Of any partiality, however, beyond what our mutual friendship accounts for and justifies, I am by no means conscious; nor would it be in the power, indeed, of even the most partial friend to allege any thing more convincingly favourable of his character than is contained in the few simple facts with which I shall here conclude, - that, through life, with all his faults, he never lost a friend ;-that those about him in his youth, whether as companions, teachers, or servants, remained attached to him to the last ;- that the woman, to whom he gave the love of his maturer years, idolises his name; and that, with a single unhappy exception, scarce an instance is to be found of any one, once brought, however briefly, into relations of amity with him, that did not feel towards him a kind regard in life, and retain a fondness for his memory.

To

I have now done with the subject, nor shall be easily tempted to recur to it. Any mistakes or misstatements I may be proved to have made shall be corrected ;- - any new facts which it is in the power of others to produce will speak for themselves. mere opinions I am not called upon to pay attention and still less to insinuations or mysteries. I have here told what I myself know and think concerning my friend; and now leave his character, moral as well as literary, to the judgment of the world.

2 In speaking of Lord Herbert of Cherbury's Life of Henry VIIL

No. I.

TWO EPISTLES FROM THE ARME

NIAN VERSION. 1

[See p. 348.]

THE EPISTLE OF THE CORINTHIANS TO ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE, 2

1 STEPHEN 3, and the elders with him, Dabnus, Eubulus, Theophilus, and Xinon, to Paul, our father and evangelist, and faithful master in Jesus Christ, health. +

2 Two men have come to Corinth, Simon by name, and Cleobus, who vehemently disturb the faith of some with deceitful and corrupt words;

3 Of which words thou shouldst inform thyself:

4 For neither have we heard such words from thee, nor from the other apostles:

5 But we know only that what we have heard from thee and from them, that we have kept firmly.

6 But in this chiefly has our Lord had compassion, that, whilst thou art yet with us in the flesh, we are again about to hear from thee.

7 Therefore do thou write to us, or come thyself amongst us quickly.

8 We believe in the Lord, that, as it was revealed to Theonas, he hath delivered thee from the hands of the unrighteous. 6

9 But these are the sinful words of these impure men, for thus do they say and teach: io That it behoves not to admit the Prophets.7

[On a copy of these Epistles, in the possession of Mr. Moore, Lord Byron has written" Done into English by me, January-February 1817, at the Convent of St. Lazaro, with the aid and exposition of the Armenian text by the Father Paschal Aucher, Armenian Friar.-BYRON. Venice, April 10. 1817. I had also the Latin text, but it is in many places very corrupt, and with great omissions." See antè, p. 348.]

2 Some MSS. have the title thus: Epistle of Stephen the Elder to Paul the Apostle, from the Corinthians.

3 In the MSS. the marginal verses published by the Whistons are wanting.

4 In some MSS. we find, The elders Numenus, Eubulus, Theophilus, and Nomeson, to Paul their brother, health!

5 Others read, There came certain men,... Clobeus, who vehemently shake.

and

11 Neither do they affirm the omnipotence of God:

12 Neither do they affirm the resurrection of the flesh :

13 Neither do they affirm that man was altogether created by God:

14 Neither do they affirm that Jesus Christ was born in the flesh from the Virgin Mary :

15 Neither do they affirm that the world was the work of God, but of some one of the angels.

16 Therefore do thou make haste 8 to come amongst us.

17 That this city of the Corinthians may remain without scandal.

18 And that the folly of these men may be made manifest by an open refutation. Fare thee well.9

The deacons Thereptus and Tichus 10 received and conveyed this Epistle to the city of the Philippians, 11

When Paul received the Epistle, although he was then in chains on account of Stratonice 12, the wife of Apofolanus 13, yet as it were forgetting his bonds, he mourned over these words, and said, weeping: "It were better for me to be dead, and with the Lord. For while I am in this body, and hear the wretched words of such false doctrine, behold, grief arises upon grief, and my trouble adds a weight to my chains; when I behold this calamity, and progress of the machinations of Satan, who searcheth to do wrong.'

And thus, with deep affliction, Paul composed his reply to the Epistle. 14

6 Some MSS. have, We believe in the Lord that his presence was made manifest; and by this hath the Lord delivered us from the hands of the unrighteous.

7 Others read, To read the Prophets.

8 Some MSS. have, Therefore, brother, do thou make haste.

9 Others read, Fare thee well in the Lord.

10 Some MSS. have, The deacons Therepus and Techus. 11 The Whistons have, To the city of Phenicia ; but in all the MSS. we find, To the city of the Philippians.

2 Others read, On account of Onotice.

13 The Whistons have, of pollophanus : but in all the MSS. we read, Apofolanus.

14 In the text of this Epistle there are some other variations in the words, but the sense is the same.