Chapter XII: Part 12

In my Definition of Epic Poetry, I inserted this Clause, _that it must be form'd upon a Story partly real, and partly fictitious_: For both these are equally necessary. In Tragedy, which is so much shorter, the Performance may not only be excusable, but commendable, tho' the whole Fable should be fictitious: But in a long Work, such as an Heroic Poem is, the Reader will be tir'd, unless he has the Pleasure of finding some Truth interwoven with the Fable. Besides, an Heroic Poet writes, or ought to write after the Examples of _Homer_ and _Virgil_, in Honour of the Country he belongs to, or the Religion he professes; and then it must be necessary that he should have some Regard to popular Opinions, or true History. This is requisite, at least to the well-being, if not the very being of an Heroic Poem.

Little need be said about the Machinery, which, among the ancient Heathens, was the Agency of their false Gods, and of Angels and Demons among us _Christians_; its Beauty and Magnificence being well known. The Dignity of an Heroic Poem would scarce be kept up without it, especially since the το θαυμαστον or the Marvellous, depends upon it. I shall say no more, but refer the Reader to the fifth Chapter of _Bossu_.

The Versification of Heroic Poetry is what no Body is a Stranger to, which, among the _Greeks_ and _Romans_ consisted of Hexameters. This Kind of Verse is so peculiar to Epic, that when it is us'd upon other Occasions, it is commonly call'd Heroic Verse. It is needless to observe how numerous, and sublime, and beautiful, in all Respects, it is, and how much it has tended to ennoble those Languages: Our _English_ Verse comes nearest to it, both in Gravity and Majesty, but at how great Distance? which yet, is, at least, both in Strength and Energy, far superior to the _French_ and _Italian_.

I have made these few scatter'd Reflections upon Heroic Poetry, and propose to add no more, at present, for a Reason I have hinted before. As to the Nature and Origin of it, I shall only offer the following clear and succinct Account from the second Chapter of the first Book of the learned _Bossu_.

"The most considerable Difference my Subject presents me with, between the Style of the Ancients and Moderns, is, that our Way of Speaking is plain, proper, and without Circumlocution; whereas theirs was full of Mysteries and Allegories: The Truth was generally conceal'd under those ingenious Inventions, which, for their Excellence, are call'd _Fables_, or _Sayings_; as if there was as much Difference between those fabulous Discourses of the Wife, and the ordinary Language of the Vulgar, as there is between the Language proper to Men, and the Sounds which Beasts use, to express their Passions and Sensations.

"The first Use of Fables was to speak of the divine Nature, according to the Notions they had of it. This sublime Subject caused the first Poets to be styl'd _Divines_, and Poetry _the Language of the the Gods_. They divided the divine Attributes, as it were, into so many Persons, because the Weakness of the Human Mind could not well conceive or explain so much Power and Action in a Simplicity so great and indivisible, as that of God is. And perhaps they were jealous of the Advantages they receiv'd from such excellent and refin'd Learning, which they thought the vulgar Part of Mankind were not worthy of.

"They could not tell us of the Operations of this Almighty Cause, without speaking, at the same Time, of its Effects: So to _Divinity_ they added _Physiology_, and treated of it in the same Manner, without quitting the Umbrages of their allegorical Expressions.

"But _Man_ being the chief, and most noble of all the Effects which God produc'd, and nothing being so proper, or so useful to _Poets_, as this Subject, they added it to the former, and treated of _Morality_ in the same Way that they did of _Divinity_ and _Physicks_. And from Morality thus discours'd of, Art has form'd that Kind of _Poem_ and Fable which we call _Epic_.

"The Poets did the same Thing in _Morality_, which the Divines did in _Theology_. That infinite Variety in the divine Actions and Operations, so much above our Understanding, forc'd them, as it were, upon dividing the single Idea of the one, and uncompounded divine Essence, into several Persons, under the Names of _Jupiter_, _Juno_, _Neptune_, and the rest: On the contrary, the Nature of _Moral Philosophy_ being such as never lays down Rules for any particular Thing, has oblig'd the _Epic Poets_ to unite in one single idea, in one and the same Person, and into one Action, which appear'd extraordinary, all that look'd like it in different Persons, and in different Actions, which might be thus contain'd as so many _Species_ under their _Genus_.

"Therefore, when _Aristotle_ says[475], φιλοσφωτερον, και σπουδαιοτερον ποιησις ιστοριας ισιν, _That Poetry is more philosophical, and more serious, than History_, he says this, not so much to magnify the Excellence of this Art, as to explain the Nature of it. _Poetry_, says he, _teaches Morality, not by a bare Recital, as an Historian, who tells us what_ Alcibiades _did, or suffer'd_, (which is _Aristotle_'s own Instance;) _but by proposing all that a Person, let the Poet call him by what Name he pleases, ought either necessarily, or most probably to have said, or done, upon such an Occasion_. It is in this Manner, that it lays down either the unhappy Consequences of ill-judg'd Designs, and wicked Actions; or else the Rewards of good Actions, and the Satisfaction one receives from a Design form'd by Virtue, and conducted by Prudence. Thus in _Epic_, according to _Aristotle_, let the Names be what they will, yet the _Persons_ and the _Actions_ are feign'd, _allegorical_, and _universal_, not _historical_ and _particular_.[476] Ἡ μεν Ποιησις μαλλον τακαθολου, ἡ δ' ιστορια τα καου ἑκαστον; λεγει, i.e. _Poetry represents Things rather in general, but History in particular._ _Horace_ is likewise of the same Mind, who is not satisfy'd with saying, that Poets teach _Morality_ full as well as _Philosophers_; but prefers _Homer_ to all of them:

_Qui quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non,
Plenius, ac melius Chrysippo, & Crantore dicit._

Who has what's base, what's decent, just and good,
Clearer than _Crantor_, or _Chrysippus_ show'd.
_Creech._

"The Reason why _Poets_ excel _Philosophers_ in this Respect is, that every Sort of _Poem_ is an _Imitation_. Now Imitation is extremely natural, and pleases every Body; and therefore nothing is more likely to engage the Passions, and the Attention, of an Audience. Besides, Imitation is Instruction by Examples, and Examples are the most proper Methods of Persuasion; because they prove that such or such a Thing is feasible. In short, Imitation is so much the Essence of Poetry, that the Art it self, as _Aristotle_ informs us, owes its very Original to it. And _Horace_ recommends it very particularly to the Poet, which he is forming:

_Respicere exemplar vitæ, morumque, jubebo
Doctum imitatorem, & veras hinc ducere voces._

Those are the likeliest Copies, which are drawn
By th' Original of Human Life.
_Roscommon._

"But tho' the _Poets_ become _moral Philosophers_, they do not cease to be _Divines_; on the contrary, the _Morality_ they treat of, does indispensably oblige them to have a Vein of Theology run thro' all their Works: Because the Knowledge, the Fear, and the Love of God, in a Word, Piety and Religion are the chief, and most solid Foundations or the other Virtues, and of all _Morality_.

The _Presence of the Deity_, and the Superintendence which so august a Cause has over the Action, obliges the _Poet_ to represent this _Action_ as great, important, and manag'd by _Kings_ and _Princes_. Hence _Horace_:

_Res gestæ regumque, ducumque._

To write of great Commanders, and of Kings.
_Roscommon._

Upon the same Account he is oblig'd to think and speak in an elevated Way, above the Vulgar, and in a Style that may, in some Measure, keep up the Character of the divine Persons he introduces. To this End serves the poetical and figurative Expression, and the Majesty of _Heroic Verse_. As _Horace_ again:

----_Cui mens divinior atque os
Magna sonaturum, des nominis hujus honorem._

No, he alone can claim that Name, that writes
With Fancy high, and bold and daring Flights.
_Creech._

"But all this being divine and marvellous, may quite ruin all _Probability_, without which an Action is not likely to persuade. Therefore the Poet should take special Care, as to this Point, since his chief Business is to instruct Men, and _form them to Virtue_.

"To all this the _Poets_ are oblig'd, by the very Nature of these Things, which they propose for the Subjects of their Poems and Instructions. The Manner of teaching them usefully and methodically, has likewise oblig'd them to add several other Rules.

"Epic Poetry is directed to the _Morals_ and the _Habits_, rather than the _Passions_. These rise on a sudden, and their Heat is soon over; but the _Habits_ are more calm, and come on, and go off more leisurely: Therefore the _Epic Action_ cannot be contain'd in one single Day, as the _Dramatic_. It must have a longer, and more just Space allow'd it, than the Action of _Tragedy_, which is directed to the _Passions_.

"This Distinction makes _Tragedy_ and _Epic_ differ very much: The Violence of _Tragedy_ requires a great deal more lively and brisk Representation than a bare _Recital_. It is all Action, the Poet never speaks, as he does in _Epic_, where there are no Actors.

"But if, in this Respect, _Epic_ is inferior to _Tragedy_, yet it is superior both to _Philosophy_ and _History_; because it is a great deal more active than bare _Philosophy_, and the Recitals of _History_: And tho' it does not, like _Tragedy_, represent the Action to the Eyes of the Spectators, yet it ought, more frequently than _History_, to break off the Narration, by intermixing the Speeches of the Persons represented. This _Aristotle_ directs, when he says, that _the Narration of Epic ought to be dramatic_, _i.e._ active." [I differ from the learned Author in the Meaning of this Passage, and agree with _Dacier_, as I said before: But it is a Matter of no great Moment. The Speeches of the Persons may be _included_ in this Rule of _Aristotle_'s; but it seems more applicable to the _Fable_, which is the _Matter_ of the Poem, than to the _Form_, which is the Way of representing it. But _Bossu_ adds,]

"_Epic_ has, likewise, its _Passions_, which give it no small Advantage over _Philosophy_ and _History_; but in this it is still inferior to _Tragedy_: For tho' it has a Mixture of all the _Passions_, yet _Joy_ and _Admiration_ are the most essential to it. These, indeed, contribute most towards the making us wise Men: _Admiration_ and _Curiosity_ are the Cause of _Sciences_; and nothing engages the Mind so forcibly as _Pleasure_; so that these two Passions must never be wanting in a Work invented with a View to teach us what we are indispensably oblig'd to know.

"To conclude: Because Precepts ought to be concise, that they may be more easily understood, and more strongly retain'd in the Memory; and because nothing can be more effectual to this Purpose than the proposing one single Idea, and collecting all Things so well together, that they may be present to the Mind at once; the _Poets_ have reduc'd all to one single Action, under one and the same Design, and in a Body whose Members and Parts should be homogeneous. Hence arise two of _Horace_'s Rules: The one,

_Quicquid præcipies, esto brevis, ut cito dicta
Percipiant animi dociles, teneantque fideles._

Let all your Precepts be succinct and clear,
That ready Wits may comprehend them soon.
_Roscom._

the other,

_Denique sit quod vis simplex duntaxat, & unum._"

Be what you will, so you be still the same.
_Roscom._

This is _Bossu_'s Account of the Origin and Nature of Epic Poetry.

[Sidenote: _Thirty-first Lecture._]

Under this Head there is very little Room to make any Comparison between the Ancients and the Moderns; for these latter Ages have scarce produc'd any Thing that deserves the Name of an Epic Poem. We know our Countryman, Mr. _Dryden_'s Judgment, about a Poem of _Chaucer_'s, truly beautiful, indeed, and worthy of Praise; namely, that it was not only equal, but even superior to the _Iliad_ and _Æneid_: But we know, likewise, that his Opinion was not always the most accurate, nor form'd upon the severest Rules of Criticism. What was in Hand, was generally most in Esteem; if it was uppermost in his Thoughts, it was so in his Judgment too. I am sure, the Opinion is too monstrous to deserve a serious Refutation. But even among the Ancients themselves, if you except _Homer_ and _Virgil_, you will scarce find one that is truly an Epic Poet. The heroic Laurels are due to them only; nor has the World produc'd _two more such Heroes_, no, nor one. How far a Comparison is to be made between this immortal Pair, and what, in my Opinion, is to be determin'd, _with Regard to their different Merits_, I have declar'd at large in another Place[483], and given some Reasons for my Sentiments; namely, that _Virgil_ is much indebted to _Homer_; but that _Homer_'s Works are inferior to _Virgil_'s.

The Poems of _Lucan_ and _Silius Italicus_, are rather historical, than heroic; their Actions are _real_, not _fictitious_; _particular_, not _universal_: But partake, in some Measure, of the Nature of Epic; as they are Poems of a considerable Length, express'd in Narration, and written in Heroic Verse; each of them have their Heroes; the Thoughts and Language are sublime, or they would have us think so, and there are some Degrees of Fiction interwoven with Truth. They are reducible, therefore, to this Class, and their Authors have a Right to be mention'd in it. _Lucan_, however liable to Censure in some Things, is, upon the whole, far from being a mean Writer, and deserves a very considerable Character. He is sometimes harsh, and over-stoical; sometimes cold, and too nearly allied to Prose; and, again, on the other Hand, he is swelling, bombast, and affects a Way of Expression ridiculously lofty; and yet, in many Things, very elegant and sublime, and full of an heroic Spirit. As to _Silius Italicus_, _Pliny_, in one of his Epistles[484], has given the following Character: _Scribebat carmina majore cura, quam ingenio. Virgilii natalem, religiosius quam suum, celebrabat; Neapoli maxime, ubi monumentum ejus adire, ut templum, solebat_ "He wrote Verses with more Pains, than Genius; he observ'd _Virgil_'s Birth-Day more religiously than his own, especially at _Naples_, where he us'd to frequent his Monument as if it had been a Temple." And since he lov'd _Virgil_ so passionately, that he almost ador'd him, it is strange he should not have come nearer to his Style. The same may be said of _Lucan_. How much unlike to _Virgil_'s! It is, also, as evident, that _Statius_ rather admir'd _Virgil_ than imitated him. He therefore says very justly,

----_Nec tu divinam Æneida tenta._

But what follows is not so well:

_Sed longe sequere, & vestigia semper adora._

For this, with an Appearance of Modesty, insinuates, that he follow'd _Virgil_: But at how great a Distance! with what unequal Steps! How unlike is his Way of Writing, and Thinking! But even _Statius_ is not without his Beauties, tho' his Poem is not properly Epic; for the Heroes of his _Thebais_ are too much upon a Level, no one is superior to the rest; and, besides, there are two Actions, one unfortunate; and the other happy. _Tasso_ is, indeed, truly heroic, and has justly attain'd no small Esteem. But, to pass by other Particulars, he is too full of Magic, Enchantments, Machinery, and aerial Personages. Of the same Fault our Countryman _Spencer_ is still more remarkably guilty, who treads almost perpetually upon enchanted Ground, and the greatest Part of whose Characters are Fairies, Ghosts, Magicians and Giants. He is all over Allegory, pursues not one Action but several, and such as have so little Relation to each other, that it is difficult to see any Connection. But, in other Respects, this most ingenious Writer was born a Poet, if any one ever was. If we consider his Versification, and especially his Copiousness of Invention, he is justly celebrated, among the Poets of the first Class.

If _Milton_ did not write an Heroic Poem, properly so call'd, yet he certainly wrote an excellent one, such as deserves, or rather is above all Commendation. He is no slavish Imitator of _Homer_ and _Virgil_, he opens a Way entirely new, and entirely his own: In Fruitfulness of Invention, Sublimity of Genius, in the Weight and Lustre of his Thoughts and Words, and, lastly, in the Perfection of his Judgment, he is, perhaps, equal to either of them, tho' he wrote in a Language much inferior to both theirs, especially _Homer_'s; and is particularly much less correct than _Virgil_. Let other Moderns imitate _Milton_, by imitating _Homer_ and _Virgil_ less: Let them improve and form themselves, as much as possible, by their Genius, their Judgment, and their Way of Writing and Thinking: To do this, is to imitate; but to transcribe their Poems, or, at least, a great Part of them, into their own, is not Copying, but Stealing.

_Nec circa vilem, patulumque moraberis orbem
Nec verbum verbo curabis reddere, fidus
Interpres._

Nor think it essential to an Heroic Poem, to describe the Anger of some great General, the Return of a King into his own Country, a Colony transplanted from one Region to another, the Description of _Æolia_, and the Winds, the solemn Celebration of Funeral Games, a Descent into Hell, or a Hero furnish'd with celestial Armour: But rather avoid these, and many other Subjects, which are treated of by _Homer_ and _Virgil_; and for that very Reason, because they are so. Whoever attempts an Heroic Poem, must form a new Plan, and guard against the Stroke of _Horace_'s Satire:

_O imitatores, servum pecus._

Let him strike out with that noble and daring Spirit of _Lucretius_;

_Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante
Trita solo; juvat integros accedere fontes,
Atque haurire; juvatque novos decerpere flores,
Insignemque meo capiti petere inde coronam,
Unde prius nulli velarunt tempora Musæ._

I feel, I rising feel poetic Heats,
And now inspir'd, trace o'er the Muses Seats,
Untrodden yet: 'Tis sweet to visit first
Untouch'd and Virgin Streams, and quench my Thirst.
I joy to crop fresh Flow'rs, and get a Crown,
For new and rare Inventions of my own.
So noble, great, and gen'rous, the Design, }
That none of all the mighty tuneful Nine }
E'er grac'd a Head with Laurels like to mine. }
_Creech._

Besides the Writers I have mention'd, there are many others of an heroical Genius, tho' they never wrote an Heroic Poem. Among the _Latius_, _Claudian_, a Writer of the middle Age, is the most eminent; upon whose Beauties and Defects I have already made a few Observations: And among those of our own Country, the late Mr. _Dryden_; besides others now alive, who, for that Reason, cannot so well be mention'd without Offence.

CONCLUSION.

I have now gone through the several Particulars I propos'd to treat of in the Course of these Lectures: What I have too lightly touch'd upon, or entirely omitted, I leave to my Successors to discuss more fully, who will supply my Defects, and correct my Errors. Nothing now remains, but to return to you, Gentlemen, my heartiest Thanks, and to testify my sincerest Wishes for your Prosperity. I should quit this Office with more Regret, did I not consider, that, at any Time, to have receiv'd Marks of your Favour, will for ever remain to me those of Honour. Nothing is in my Power to return for them, but my most ardent Prayers for the Welfare of this University, that as it daily receives fresh Ornaments in Buildings, so it may make new Acquisitions (if there is Room for any) in Learning and Virtue, and in its Reputation for both; and that you may be as secure from the Attempts, as you are above the Reproaches of your Enemies. And, surely, unless we are much deceiv'd in our Hopes, and our Wishes biass us with too fond Credulity, we may esteem as fresh Omens of our Happiness, those numerous Towers that rise sacred to the Muses, even in the most difficult Times; insomuch, that if we retire from the University but a few Months, we are almost Strangers to it upon our Return, and verify the old Saying, tho' from a very different Reason, _Oxonium quærimus in Oxonio_, we seek for _Oxford_ within her own Walls. It is amazing, then, that Men, who boast of the greatest Zeal for their Country, should hate and despise that which is the distinguishing Ornament of it. It would be blind Partiality in us, if, in other Respects, we pretended to excel the whole Earth. Brave, as we are, yet so are the _French_, so the _Germans_. Are we powerful by Sea, and rich in Commerce? the _Dutch_ are also: And it would be the Height of Arrogance, to claim to ourselves the Laurels, in Point of Learning and Ingenuity. But that the _English_ Universities are not to be parallel'd, is the Confession and Admiration of all the World: Even one of them, the less of the Two, I need not say equals, but exceeds all Foreign Ones together. This Glory is our peculiar Property, which yet some endeavour to extinguish, who would be thought strenuous Defenders of their Country. If you ask me the Reason for it, I know of none but what the old Saying in _Terence_ supplies me with, _Mala mens, malus animus_, Bad Principles produce bad Designs. To such I wish true Repentance. As to myself, Words are too weak to express the Sentiments of my Heart for that Candour and Affection with which you have honour'd me with your Attendance, have pardon'd my Mistakes, and accepted my weak Endeavours. May the _Oxford_ Muses flourish, for ever flourish, more and more; and may you, the Encouragers and Promoters of them, go on to promote them, and, by your Increase in Poetry, and all other Arts and Sciences, in Virtue and Learning, afford to Poets perpetual Subjects of Praise.

_FINIS._

_Addenda & Corrigenda._

Page 15. _l._ 3. _Vossius_'s Definition is short as it makes the Essence of Poetry consist solely in Imitation.] _Add this Note_, The Author of _Observations on Poetry occasioned by the late Poem on Leonidas_, p. 71. finds the same Fault with _Aristotle_; who "by this, says he, excludes all descriptive Poetry; and accordingly he (_Aristotle_) directs the epic poet to introduce his characters, and write in dialogue, as much as possible, for this reason, that when the poet speaks himself, he is not an imitator. _Plato_ has more justly distinguish'd, that some kinds of Poetry consist wholly in imitation, as tragedy and comedy; some in narration only, where the poet speaks in his own person, as odes; whereas some, as the epic, contain a mixture of both." For my Part, I cannot think it any great Violence put upon Words to allow that _Description_ or _Narration_ is _Imitation_. It is certain _Aristotle_ uses the Word _Imitation_ in this Sense, c. 3. και ναρ ιν τοις αυ τοις και αιτα μιμε αθ αι ισιν, οτι μεν απαγρελλο, η ἑτιρον τε γιγιομενσις, _A Poet may imitate the same Things either by Narration, or by assuming the Character of some other Person_: And c. 22, 23. he distinguishes περι της οιτε ορθτειν μιμησιως], ανδ [Γρεεκ: περι της δραγεαστικης, and περι της δραγεαστικης, between _Dramatic Imitation_, and _Narrative_: and c. 2. & 4. he mentions the _Dithyrambics_ and _Nomi_, Hymns in Honour of _Bacchus_ and _Apollo_, and other Odes, as Instances of Poetic Imitation. Now, I need not observe, that if in these Hymns and Odes, Actions, as _Dacier_ contends, were _imitated_ by Description or Narration, other Things may likewise. Nay Plato himself has omitted _descriptive_ Poetry, as well as _Aristotle_ if it is not included under _narrative_.

But still, if it is, the ingenious Author will not allow it to be _Imitation_, upon the Authority of _Plato_. Now as to _Plato_, _Dan. Heinsius_ long since observed, that tho', with Dr. _Pemberton_, he sometimes speaks of _Imitation_ as a _Species_ of Poetry, yet at other times he agrees with _Aristotle_, in making it the _Genus_. In short, these two Philosophers are agreed, that All Poetry is Imitation; but Dramatic Imitation, or that which is supported by Dialogue, is more peculiarly so.

Next let us see if Dr. _Pemberton_'s own Account of Poetry will not lead us to think _Description_ to be _Imitation_. He observes, p. 75. _That it is the peculiar Office of the Poet_, in Opposition to the Prose-writer, _to exhibit continually sensible_ IMAGES _of things_. Now _Images_ are surely _Likenesses_ or _Imitations_; and whether these are the genuine Images of the Poet's Subject, or adventitious ones fetch'd in to illustrate it, still 'tis all Imagery: _Imitation_ is his distinguishing Character. Again, p. 98. he observes, _The language of comedy receives its poetic Air not by departing from the ordinary forms of speech, but by keeping more close to them_. So that where we almost lose Sight of Poetry, the Traces of it are preserved by Imitation. Upon the whole 1. we see _Plato_ and _Aristotle_ use Imitation in a larger Sense than Dr. _Pemberton_ was aware of; and 2. the Doctor naturally falls into the Sentiments of both, while he opposes one of them.

_Vossius_, it seems, and _Dacier_ go farther, and suppose that _Aristotle_ makes _Poetry consist in the Imitation of_ ACTIONS _only_. But the Words, c. 2. as Dr. _Trapp_ observes, very well bear another Sense, ιπειδη μιμενται ον μιμουμενοι πορθοντας, &c. _Since Imitators_, or Poets _imitate Actions_, i.e. as well as other things; or possibly thus, joining ποθιτδοιδας to μιμουμενοι, _since those that imitate Actions are Imitators,--such Actions_, he goes on, _must be either good or bad_.

As to _Dacier_, I cannot well make him consistent with himself: _Aristotle_, says he, c. 2. rem. 1. _lays it down as an undoubted Principle, that_ ALL _those that imitate, imitate Actions; and indeed it is so, for there is nothing else but Actions which can be imitated_. And yet upon _Aristotle_'s saying that Music is Imitation, he observes, that _whatever employs means to shew and represent_ ANY SUBJECT _as naturally as may be, whether it_ DOES REALLY EXIST _or no, is called Imitation_. Does he by _Actions_ above mean _Effects_? _Aristotle_, it must be own'd, instances in Actions as the Objects of Poetic Imitation, being to treat of Epic and Dramatic Poetry particularly. But he ascribes the Rise of Poetry in general to the Desire of Imitation, and the Pleasure we take in comparing the Likeness of Copies with their Originals. And this Faculty surely is exercised not only in viewing the Description of a Man, but of a Mountain; not only in representing the Conflicts of Passion, but

_A painted Meadow and a purling Stream._

_P. 154. l. 10, 11, r. thus_

_Tartuffe_ in _English_ freely I resign;
_The Excrement is his, the Food was mine._

_P. 303. l. 2. add this Note_, I make no Doubt, but for ιπαγγελιας we should read with _Sylburgius_ απαγγελιας the former being never used for _Narration_, the latter more than once by _Aristotle_, as c. 2. ὁτε μεν απαγγελλοντα, and c. 6. και απαγγελιας ειναι

_P. 333. Note † change thus_] _Bossu_ distinguishes very clearly, and to the same Purpose with Dr. _Trapp_, between the Narration the Poet himself makes, and that which he represents the Hero to make. In the former View, the Action of the _Odyssee_ takes up Eight Years and six Months, and the _Æneid_ almost seven Years. But in the latter, _Bossu_ reduces the _Odyssey_ to fifty eight Days; and the _Æneis_ either to a Year and somewhat more, or else to a single Campaign, beginning where Dr. _Trapp_ does. See _Bossu_ Book II. ch. xviii. and Book III. c. xii.

FOOTNOTES:

[457] Preface to my _English_ Translation of _Virgil_'s _Æneis_.

[458] Ibid.

[459] The Reader will understand this Distinction much better by the Examples which the Author has mention'd in his Preface to the _Æneis_; and I shall, for that Reason, take the Liberty to transcribe some of them. "The Storm, in the first Book of _Virgil_, driving the Fleet on the Coast of _Carthage_, is an Incident, not an Episode, because the Hero himself, and the whole Body of his Forces, are concern'd in it; and so it is a direct, and not a collateral Part of the main Action. The Adventures of _Nisus_ and _Euryalus_, in the 9th Book, are Episodes, not Incidents; _i.e._ not direct Parts of the main Action."

[460] Thus prov'd by _Bossu_: The _Iliad_ begins with the Plague, which lasts ten Days. The Poet allows for the Recovery of the _Grecians_ 10, Battles that follow 5, Funeral Rites of _Patroclus_ 11, and of _Hector_ 11; in all, 47.

[461] The _Odyssey_, according to the same Author, Book III. c. XII. takes up 58 Days. And the _Æneis_ is reduc'd within half a Year, or a single Campaign, beginning where Dr. _Trapp_ does. I know not how _Bossu_ came to be so misrepresented.

[462] Art. Poet. ℣ 73.

[463] Book II. c. XIX.

[464] ℣ 103.

[465] De Art. Poet. ℣ 121.

[466] Ibid. ℣ 121.

[467] Περι ποιητικης, cap. XXIII.

[468] Æn. L. III. ℣ 26.

[469] ℣ 34.

[470] ℣ 59.

[471] Il. XIX. ℣ 407.

[472] Æn. III. 664.

[473] Ibid. 672.

[474] Æn. VII. 808.

[475] Περι ποιητικης, c. IX.

[476] Ibid.

[477] Lib I. Ep. II. 3.

[478] De Art. ℣ 317.

[479] ℣ 73.

[480] Lib. I. Sat. IV. 43.

[481] De Art. Poet. ℣ 335.

[482] Ibid. 23.

[483] See p. 45. of the Author's Preface to the _Æneis_, where the Comparison between these two Poets is drawn out at large. As the Case is commonly stated, _Homer_ excell'd in _Fire_ and _Invention_, and _Virgil_ in Judgment; but Dr. _Trapp_ does not allow _Homer_'s Superiority in any Respect. "It is a great Error (says he) to think that all Fire consists in quarrelling and fighting, as do three Parts in four of _Homer_'s, in his _Iliad_. The Fire we are speaking of is Spirit and Vivacity, Energy of Thought and Expression, which Way soever it affects; whether it fires us by Anger, or otherwise, nay, tho' it does not fire us at all, but even produces a quite contrary Effect. However it may sound like a Paradox, it is the Property of this poetical Flame, to chill us with Horror, and make us weep with Pity, as well as kindle us with Indignation, Love, or Glory. Not that _Virgil_ is deficient in that Sort of Fire, the fierce, the rapid, the fighting."

Mr. _Pope_'s Sentiments of these two Poets are somewhat different; the Reader shall have the Pleasure of comparing them; "This Fire (says he) is discern'd in _Virgil_, but discern'd as thro' a Glass, reflected, and more shining than warm, but every where equal and constant: In _Lucan_, and _Statius_, it bursts out in sudden, short, and interrupted Flames: In _Milton_ it glows like a Furnace, kept to an uncommon Fierceness by the Force of Art: In _Shakespear_, it strikes before we are aware, like an accidental Fire from Heaven: But in _Homer_, and in him only, it burns every where clearly, and every where irresistibly." _Pope_'s Translation of _Homer_'s _Iliad_. Dr. _Trapp_ criticizes on this Passage.

[484] Lib. III. Ep. VII.

[485] Thebaid. L. X.

[486] De Art. Poet. 132.

[487] Lib. I. Ep. XIX. 19.

[488] Lucret. IV. 1.

_Just Published._

Selectæ e profanis Scriptoribus Historiæ, quibus admista sunt varia honeste vivendi Præcepta, ex iisdem Scriptoribus deprompta. Editio altera.

Mons. _Rollin_, in his _Method of Studying the Belles Lettres_, Vol. I, p. 84, concludes a very advantageous Character of this Work in the following Words:

"I know of no Book, which may be more useful, and at the same time more agreeable to Youth. It contains excellent Principles of Morality, collected with great Order and Judgment, with very affecting Passages of History upon every Article."