Chapter III: Part 3

Nor the Spatt'ring of the Steel,
On Anvils form'd, and hammer'd into Swords.

These, perhaps, and the like, might be reduced to the Head of Descriptions; but they are very short and imperfect ones, and, if I may so speak, are from their very Imperfection the more perfect. The Mind of Man does not love to have every Thing too minutely laid before it; it pleases itself in having Room for Exercise, and to walk alone, as it were, without leading.

There are many other Things, which Poets chuse to express paraphrastically, and in short Descriptions, rather than in simple Terms. Every Body is acquainted with the usual little Images they give us (the larger ones I have at present nothing to do with) of the Morning, Night, Noon, and Evening; as

_Oceanum interea surgens Aurora reliquit._

Mean while Aurora rising from the Sea.
[37]
_Vertitur interea cœlum, & ruit Oceano nox._

Mean while the Hemisphere rolls round, and Night
Swift rushes from the Sea.
[38]
_Nunc etiam pecudes umbras & frigora captant,
Nunc virides etiam occultant spineta lacertas._

Our Cattle now the cooling Shades enjoy,
Now the green Lizards lurk in prickly Brakes.

_Et jam summa procul villarum culmina fumant,
Majoresque cadunt altis de montibus umbræ._

And now the Village Tops at Distance smoke.
And lofty Shades from lofty Mountains fall.

So of Winter, Summer, Spring, and Autumn; as,

_Vere novo, gelidus canis cum montibus humor
Liquitur, & Zephyro putris se gleba resolvit._

With Spring's first Op'ning, when dissolving Snows
From hoary Mountains run, and _Zephyr_ slacks
The crumbling Glebe.
[41]
----_Jam venit Æstas
Torrida, jam læto turgent in palmite gemmæ._

Now scorching Summer comes,
And in the fruitful Tendrils swells the Gems.

Numberless other Descriptions there are of this Sort, which we admire in Poetry, and yet in Prose we should laugh at.

'Tis usual, likewise, in Poetry, (which is another Peculiarity) to denote Men, Places, Rivers, Mountains, by various Names taken from any of their Adjuncts. This is so well known, that I have no need, out of the Multitude of Examples, to produce any. 'Tis no less common to put Particulars for Generals; thus _Virgil_:

----_Vestro si munere tellus
Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista,
Poculaque inventis Acheloïa miscuit uvis._

If the Earth
By your Indulgence chang'd _Chaonian_ Mast
For Corn, and from the new discoulour'd Grape
With _Acheloïan_ Bev'rage mingled Wine.

And in another Place,

----_Quot Ionii veniant ad littora fluctus,_

How many Waves roll to th'_Ionian_ Shore.

So _Horace_,

----_Tristitiam & metus
Tradam protervis in mare Creticum
Portare ventis._----

To _Cretan_ Seas I give my Cares,
The Sport of wanton Winds.

Again,

----_Nec mare Caspium
Vexant inæquales procellæ._

Nor ruffling Storms still toss the _Caspian_ Floods.

And a little after,

----_Aut Aquilonibus
Querceta Gargani laborant._

Nor the bleak North torments th'_Appulian_ Woods.
_Creech._

Not a little elegant is this Manner of Writing, since, by an agreeable Variety of Particulars, it continually represents to the Mind somewhat new, and sets before it fresh Entertainment; whereas Generals, being always the same, grow cold and lifeless, by their too frequent Repetition.

Tho' Oratory may seem to be more adapted to express our Conceptions, as being not confined by the Fetters of Metre; yet Poetry, it is certain, makes a stronger Impression upon the Mind, and conveys a livelier Image to the Imagination, and that at once with such Elegance and Brevity, as the Force of Prose can never come up to. In Proof of this, I might produce Multitudes of Examples; but none more full than that of _Horace_,

[47]----_enitescis
Pulchrior multo, juvenumque prodis
Publica cura._

And still shine out more bright and fair,
The publick Grief, and publick Care.
_Oldsworth_.

A Passage, this, entirely poetical, and not only beautiful in itself, but more proper to convey an Idea of the Thing intended, than all that the Power of Oratory can furnish.

To the Style of Poetry _Descriptions_ likewise are almost peculiar. 'Tis true, they occur frequently in Prose; but then they are used either with Impropriety, or with Caution; or the Writings themselves are of a Kind that borders near upon Poetry, and therefore borrows Descriptions from it. Historians, indeed, describe Things, Places, and Persons; but not so much for the Sake of Ornament, as Necessity; that the Series of their Narration may appear clear and perspicuous to their Readers. Orators likewise attempt Descriptions, when they have Occasion for them to work upon the Passions. But neither the one nor the other affect them as a Decoration to their Writings, which Poets generally do very successfully, making use of these sort of Colourings, either of general Things or Particulars, in Miniature or at full Length, as Occasion serves, not only with a Design to move the Passions, but to please the Fancy. Great Judgment is required in the due Exercise of this Art, and a puerile Wit never betrays itself more apparently, than by forcing in Descriptions, out of mere Ostentation, that have no Connection with the Subject, and are consequently a Burden to it. But nothing is more beautiful, when a proper Choice is made of them; nothing more agreeable to the Nature of Poetry; few Things more peculiar to it. A Prose Writer does not only on Purpose use fewer Descriptions than the Poet, but in Reality is less capable of them. The very Essence of Poetry consists chiefly in Imitation; and such a Power it has in placing Things before the Eye of the Reader, as Prose entirely wants; and can be conceived only, not expressed[48]. An Historian might record the Omens and Prodigies that attended the Death of _Julius Cæsar_; but it is impossible he should come up to that admirable Description of them _Virgil_ has left us. He might recount, for instance, the surprizing Eruption of Mount _Ætna_; but could never find out Words to represent it in so lively Colours as these,

----_Quoties Cyclopum effervere in agros
Vidimus undantem, ruptis fornacibus, Ætnam,
Flammarumque globos, liquefactaque volvere saxa?_

How oft have we beheld
Loud thund'ring _Ætna_ from Vulcano's burst,
Deluge with liquid Fire Cyclopean Fields,
And toss huge Balls of Flame, and molten Stones?

Were an Historian to relate the Circumstance, in the Fourth Book of _Virgil_'s _Æneis_, he would tell us at once, that _Dido_ had struggled long with a secret Passion for _Æneas_; but no Expressions out of Verse, could fix in the Mind so strong a Sense of that inward Disease with which she labour'd, as those wonderful Lines at the Beginning of the Narrative:

_At Regina, gravi jamdudum saucia cura,
Vulnus alit venis, & cæco carpitur igni._

But with consuming Care the restless Queen,
Already bleeding, nourishes a Wound.

And what follows, all the Efforts of Prose can never equal: That, particularly, which the Poet subjoins, after he had described her sacrificing to the Gods, and consulting the Oracle:

_Heu! vatum ignaræ mentes! quid vota furentem,
Quid delubra juvant? est mollis flamma medullas
Interea, & tacitum vivit sub pectore vulnus._

Wretched the Ignorance
Of Augurs! what, alas! do Vows or Shrines
Avail, to heal her Frenzy? A soft Flame
Feeds on her Vitals, and a living Wound
Silent, uneven, bleeds inward in her Breast.

The whole Description is wonderful, and sufficiently testifies the Power of Poetry, beyond that of Prose. I beg Leave, however, to add one or two Instances more. The Poet describing the Queen just dying for Love, adds,

_Nunc eadem, labente die, convivia quærit;
Iliacosque iterum demens audire labores
Exposcit, pendetque iterum narrantis ab ore._

At Ev'ning she renews
Her Banquets; fondly begs again to hear
The Trojan Wars; again, while he relates,
She listens fix'd, and hangs upon the Sound.

And a few Lines after:

_Sola domo mœret vacua, stratisque relictis
Incubat; illum absens absentem auditque videtque;
Aut gremio Ascanium, genitoris imagine capta,
Detinet, infandum si fallere possit amorem._

Lonely she pines within the empty Court,
Lies on the Couch which just before she left;
Him absent, absent still, she hears and sees.
Sometimes his Father's Image all her Soul
Possessing, young _Ascanius_ on her Lap
She long detains; if possible, to cheat,
With that Amusement, her unbounded Love.

Among the other fatal Predictions of the unhappy Queen's Death, an Historian might mention the foreboding Noise of the Scrietch-Owl; but would fall infinitely short of the inexpressible Elegance with which it is described in the two following Lines:

_Solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo
Sæpe queri, & longas in fletum ducere voces._

And on her Palace-Top
The lonely Owl, with oft repeated Scream,
Complains, and spins into a dismal Length
Her baleful Shrieks.

I have produced, perhaps, already, too many Examples; but I cannot forbear adding one more, which exceeds Admiration itself: It is the Description of _Tityos_, in the Sixth _Æneid_, suffering Punishment in the Shades below.

_Necnon & Tityon, terræ omniparentis alumnum,
Cernere erat: per tota novem cui jugera corpus
Porrigitur; rostroque immanis vultur obunco
Immortale jecur tundens, fœcundaque pœnis
Viscera, rimaturque epulis, habitatque sub alto
Pectore; nec fibris requies datur ulla renatis._

There _Tityus_, Son of the all-bearing Earth,
One might behold: Whose Body's monstrous Bulk
Lies stretch'd o'er nine whole Acres; and a huge
Portentous Vulture, with her hooky Beak
Pouncing his everlasting Liver, thrives
Upon his Entrails, fruitful of their Pains;
Rummages for her Meals, inhabits deep
Beneath his Breast; nor do the Fibres find
The least Relief from Torment still renew'd.

From the whole, I suppose it abundantly plain, that there is an Energy in the poetic Style, as it is much more adapted to copying Nature, than Oratory is, with all its Rhetoric.

[Sidenote: _Fifth Lecture._]

'Tis farther to be observed, that figurative Expressions are far more frequent in Poetry, than Prose, as they are far more suitable to it; because it consists much more in the Embellishments of Style, in the Liveliness of Description, and impressing the Images of Things upon the Imagination. For tho' it rejects all false Colouring, and too great Affectation of Pomp, yet from the very Nature of it we may judge it takes in more real Ornaments than Prose. As to _Tropes_ or _Figures_, as they are usually called, many of them are never used in Oratory, some but seldom, and very sparingly; others, again, agree naturally with it, particularly, the _Irony_, _Metonymy_, _Synechdoche_, and _Metaphor_. Tho' the last of these, for the Reason before alledg'd, is more the Property of Poetry. Some of the Figures are so familiar, and natural, that they are every Day used in common Speech, even by the Vulgar, of which Sort we may reckon those above, and some others. Metaphors never fail of being beautiful, when applied with mature Judgment, and a lively Wit; that is, when they are drawn from Nature, connect Ideas that have a due Relation to each other, and are not too much wrested to a foreign Sense. But nothing is more insipid, more ridiculous, or absurd, when these Rules are transgress'd in the Choice of them; which is the Case, very often, of our modern Writers, to their eternal Disgrace.

Nothing can shew more the Elegance of Metaphors, and their Agreement with Nature, than those that are taken from Men and living Creatures, and applied to Trees and Plants. For as these have a sort of Life ascrib'd to them (call'd the vegetative) and are really endued with it; the Transition is easy to Creatures of a higher Rank, that are endued with it in a more proper Sense. Hence we hear so often, not only among the Poets, but in Prose, and even in common Conversation, of Trees and Plants being _alive_ or _dead_, _healthy_ or _sickly_. Nay, often human Passions and Affections are attributed to them: Plants, in particular (to omit other Instances) are often said to _love_ or _hate_ this Soil or that. So _Virgil_, speaking of them,

_Sponte sua quæ se tollunt in luminis auras,
Infœcunda quidem, sed læta, & fortia, surgunt._

Those which unbidden spring to upper Air,
Steril, indeed, but strong and healthy rise.

And afterwards,

_Exuerint silvestrem animum, cultuque frequenti,
In quascunque voces artes, haud tarda sequentur._

Will in Time unlearn
Their salvage Temper, and not slow obey
With frequent Culture, what your Art commands.

Again, in the same Book,

_Inque novos soles audent se gramina tuto
Credere, nec metuit surgentes pampinus Austros._

To new Suns the Herbs
Dare trust themselves; nor aught the tender Vine
From rising _Auster_ fears.

There are many other Metaphors of different Kinds, which tho' they may seem, as indeed they are, a little of the boldest, yet are agreeable to Nature, and true Elegance. As that of _Virgil_,

_Insequitur nimbus peditum_;

A Storm of Foot succeeds.

And in another Place,

----_It toto turbida cælo
Tempestas telorum, & ferreus ingruit imber._

An Iron Tempest, and a Storm of Darts
Hovers aloft, and blackens all the Sky.

These lofty Metaphors, however, are to be used with great Judgment, for fear they should seem too far fetch'd, and the Style more swelling than weighty.

As I am now upon the Subject of Figures, I can't help making a Remark or two on those Books of Rhetorick that are usually read in Schools. They contain, indeed, many Things of Use, and worthy of Observation: But surely there's no Necessity that an Art designed for the Refinement of the Minds of Youth, should be treated of in so rough a Method, so full of dry, logical Definitions, as must be hard for Boys to understand, and much harder to remember. Nor is there any Need of all those Sub-divisions of Figures, one under another, which, when Boys have once made themselves Masters of, before they have Judgment enough to use them, they think their Business is to adorn their little Performances with these sort of Flowers, as they call them, and fling them in, at any Rate, without any Regard to Propriety: Their Style, by being thus overcharged, as it were, instead of appearing with fresh Vigour, abounds only with disagreeable Excrescencies. A Knowledge of these Things will be much better arrived at by Experience, than Precept: And every one that is conversant with the best Authors, that reads them with Understanding, and true Relish, cannot but be acquainted with all the Figures of Speech, and the Art of using them, tho' he never heard so much as their Names, or their Definitions.

It is common with all Sorts of Writers to express the same Thing by different Modes of Speech, and such Variety is often reckoned a Proof of their Elegance. Now Poets have in this Particular a greater Liberty allow'd them, than any other Writers, for the Reason I have often mention'd, because their Works consist more in Ornament and Decoration. But the Exercise of this Liberty ought to be conducted with great Judgment and Caution; lest, by an ill Use of it, the Style grow too luxuriant. The just Medium, and the vicious Extreme, cannot be better learnt than by making a Comparison between _Virgil_ and _Ovid_. Both of them, you'll see, express the same Thought different Ways; the one never fails of Beauty, the other falsly aims at it. _Ovid_ tells you the very same Thing, in many Words, and sometimes with very little Difference between them: _Virgil_ illustrates one Thing in _general_, by distinguishing its several Species or Adjuncts, and his Description of each is perfectly new. A few Examples, out of many, will make this plain. Says _Ovid_,

_Omnia pontus erat, deerant quoque littora ponto._

For all was Sea, nor had the Sea a Shore. _Sandys._

And in another Place,

_O! ego quantum egi! quam vasta potentia nostra est!_

What Feats I've wrought! how mighty is my Pow'r!

And in the next Verse almost,

----_Sic est mea magna potestas._

----So mighty is my Pow'r.

In the Sixth Book _Niobe_ magnifying her own Happiness, and extolling herself above Measure, boasts thus,

_Sum felix; quis enim negat hoc? felixque manebo;
Hoc quoque quis dubitat? tutam me copia fecit.
Major sum quam cui possit Fortuna nocere_; &c.
_Excessere metum bona jam mea_, &c.

Thrice happy I, for who can that contest?
Or who deny that I shall long be blest?
By Plenty crown'd I dread no Change of Fate,
Despise both Fortune's Friendship, and her Hate.
My Bliss is plac'd above the Reach of Fear, &c.

But to omit other Instances, only take a View of _Narcissus_ in the same Poet, desperately in Love with himself:

_Cunctaque miratur, quibus est mirabilis ipse;
Se cupit imprudens, & qui probat ipse probatur.
Dumque petit, petitur; pariterque accendit & ardet:_ &c.
_Atque oculos idem qui decipit, incitat, error._

By his own Flames consum'd the Lover lies,
And gives himself the Wound by which he dies.

_Addison._

And afterwards, as if all he had done was nothing, he only changes the Person, and brings in _Narcissus_ himself speaking thus:

_Ille ego sum, sensi; nec me mea fallit imago;
Uror amore mei, flammas moveoque, feroque;
Quid faciam? roger? anne rogem? quid deinde rogabo?
Quod cupio mecum est; inopem me copia fecit._

Ah! wretched me, I now begin, too late,
To find out all the long perplex'd Deceit:
It is myself I love, myself I see,
The gay Delusion is a Part of me.
I kindle up the Fires by which I burn,
And my own Beauties from the Well return.
Whom shou'd I court? how utter my Complaint? }
Enjoyment but produces my Restraint, }
And too much Plenty makes me die for Want, }
_Addison._

Very justly may the last Words, with some small Alteration, be applied to _Ovid_ himself, in whom a Fecundity of Words occasioned a Barrenness of Sense. How far is this from him, _qui nil molitur inepte_, who ne'er attempts a Thought in vain? _Virgil_, I mean, much better entitled, in my Opinion, to that Character, than he for whom _Horace_ design'd it. With how much greater Propriety does that divine Poet express the same Thing in different Ways, where he describes the Manner of Grafting and Inoculating?

_Et sæpe alterius ramos impune videmus
Vertere in alterius; mutatamque insita mala
Ferre pyrum, & prunis lapidosa rubescere corna._

Oft too we see one Tree's ingrafted Sprays
Change to another's, nor repent that Change.
The Pear's hard Trunk with alien Apples bend:
And on the Plumb's the stony Cornel grew.

_Inseritur vero ex fœtu nucis arbutus horrida;
Et steriles platani malos gessere valentes,
Castaneæ fagos; ornusque incanuit albo
Flore pyri, glandemque sues fregere sub ulmis._

But with a Filberd's Twig the prickly Arbutus
Is grafted: Oft the barren Plane has borne
The ruddiest Apples: Chesnuts bloom'd on Beech,
The wild Ash blossom'd with the Flow'rs of Pears,
Snow-white; and Swine crack'd Acorns under Elms.

By this Comparison of _Ovid_ and _Virgil_, how tedious seem the Trifles, and how nauseous the Repetitions of the former; how various the Description, how diffusive, and yet how chaste the Elegance of the latter? The one with wonderful Art represents, as I said, the same Thing, or the same Thought, by different Species or Adjuncts; the other gives you the same Thing ten Times over, under the very same Species, by changing the Words only; from which superabundant Luxuriance, as his Style must needs want Nerves, so must his Readers Patience. I would not, however, condemn it throughout; he has many Passages that are worthy of Praise, and some, of _Virgil_ himself. Of this Sort is that Description of the Fate of _Niobe_'s Children:

_E quibus Ismenos, qui matris sarcina quondam
Prima suæ fuerat, certum dum flectit in orbem
Quadrupedis cursus, spumantiaque ora coërcet;
Hei mihi! conclamat: medioque in pectore fixa
Tela gerit, frœnisque manu moriente remissis,
In latus à dextro paulatim defluit armo._

Of these _Ismenos_, who by Birth had been
The first fair Issue of the fruitful Queen,
Just as he drew the Rein, to guide his Horse
Around the Compass of the circling Course,
Sigh'd deeply, and the Pangs of Smart express'd,
While the Shaft stuck engorg'd within his Breast:
And the Reins dropping from his dying Hand,
Gently he fell upon the yielding Sand.
_Croxall._

But in many Places, it must be own'd, he is guilty of that Luxuriance I just now mention'd; I cannot, therefore, sufficiently wonder at their Ignorance, who presume to compare him to _Virgil_. But of this, perhaps, I shall have a more convenient Opportunity hereafter; when I make a farther Comparison between some other Authors. I beg Leave, at present, as I have cited a remarkable Place out of _Virgil_'s _Georgics_, to present you with one or two more, that are no less deserving your Attention: I am sure, nothing can shew the Force and Elegance of the poetic Style, more than what that Model of Perfection has left us, even upon the plainest, and most ignoble Subject. Among his Precepts of Agriculture, he gives you these, in the following Words:

_Sæpe etiam steriles incendere profuit agros,
Atque levem stipulam crepitantibus urere flammis.
Sive inde occultas vires & pabula terræ
Pinguia concipiunt; sive illis omne per ignem
Excoquitur vitium, atque exudat inutilis humor:
Seu plures calor ille vias, & cæca relaxat
Spiramenta, novas veniat qua sucrus in herbas;
Seu durat magis, & venas astringit hiantes_, &c.

Oft too it has been painful found, to burn
The barren Fields with Stubble's crackling Flames.
Whether from thence they secret Strength receive,
And richer Nutriment: Or by the Fire
All latent Mischief, and redundant Juice,
Oozing sweats off; or whether the same Heat
Opens the hidden Pores, that new Supplies
Of Moisture may refresh the recent Blades:
Or hardens more, and with astringent Force
Closes the gaping Veins: _&c._

Nothing can exceed the Beauty of this Passage, unless that where he describes the various Methods of Grafting and Inoculating:

_Nec modus inserere, atque oculos imponere simplex;
Nam qua se medio trudunt de cortice gemmæ,
Et tenues rumpunt tunicas, augustus in ipso
Fit nodo sinus; huc aliena ex arbore germen
Includunt, udoque docent inolescere libro.
Aut rursum enodes trunci resecantur, & alte
Finditur in solidum cuneis via: deinde feraces
Plantæ immittuntur; nec longum tempus, & ingens
Exiit ad cœlum ramis felicibus arbos,
Miraturque novas frondes, & non sua poma._

Nor single is the Manner to ingraft,
Or to inoculate. For where the Gems
Bud from the middle Bark, and gently burst
The filmy Coats; ev'n in the Knot is made
A small Incision: From an alien Tree
An Eye is here enclos'd, and taught to grow
Congenial, blending with the humid Rind.
Or else into the knotless solid Trunk
They force a Cleft with Wedges; then insert
The fertile Sprigs: Nor long the Time; to Heav'n
The Tree with loaden Branches shoots away,
Admires new Leaves, and Apples not her own.

I hope I shall deserve your Pardon for producing these Examples; they are of no ordinary Nature, for that very Reason because their Subject is so. I know very well, how absurd it would be to repeat to you, upon this Head, all the beautiful Passages that occur in the best Poets: What else would this be, but to transcribe the greatest Part of them? But I thought it not improper to give you these Specimens from the _Georgics_, that you might view in them the Force of Poetry and _Virgil_, who was able to throw such a Splendor upon so mean Materials, and make them at once the Pleasure and Envy of Posterity.

To shun the Repetition of the same Words, as much as possible, is a Precept not only applicable to Poets, but to all other Writers; because the same Sounds tire the Ears of the Reader. Here those Figures of Elegance, the _Epizeuxis_ and _Anadiplosis_, are manifestly excepted. Some, however, out of a Detestation of this Fault, fall into a greater; and in their Zeal for Variety, by wresting Words from their natural Signification, are guilty of the very worst Fault in Writing, Obscurity. The best Writers never run into this Extreme, but chuse rather to repeat the same Words, than use others in an improper Sense, as may be seen very frequently in _Virgil_. It is probable, indeed, a Desire of Elegance first brought in a Diversity of Words; for if Convenience only were considered, each Conception of the Mind would have but a single Word appropriated to it: Whereas now, in learning a new Language, to our great Trouble we find many Words affixed to one Idea, or many Ideas to one Word. Nor is Disagreeableness of Sound to be avoided only in the Repetition of the same Words, but often (for the Rule does not always hold) in using different Words of the same Termination. As these in _Juvenal_:

----_tarda per densa cadavera prorâ._

'Tis certain, in poetical Compositions we ought to have great Regard to Harmony, and to endeavour to captivate the Ear, as well as please the Imagination of our Readers. For tho' nothing is more contemptible than _versus inopes rerum, nugæque canoræ, poor shallow Verse, mere bubbling Trifles_, that have no other Recommendation but Sound; yet they err, on the other Hand, who have a View only to the Sense, and none to the Musick that should echo to it. This was the Case of many of our Countrymen, of _Couley_, particularly, and others of the last Age; who, studious only for the Beauty of Thought, neglected, or did not rightly understand the Melody of Verse: Till at length our _Dryden_ arose, who added to _English_ Poetry what it only wanted, Numbers, Harmony, and Accuracy; by which Means, if we are not too partial in our Judgment of ourselves, it now bears the Laurel from all the Nations in _Europe_.

The best Poets among the Antients were solicitous about the Disposal of their Words, as well as the Choice of them. It is an Elegance, which, tho' often unobserved, pleases the Mind insensibly. And yet any one, with the least Attention, will perceive, that there's not a little Difference, whether the same Word is placed in one Part of a Verse, or another. How much, for Instance; would that of _Virgil_

_Admonet in somnis, & turbida terret imago_

suffer in the Change, if it were read,

----_& imago turbida terret!_

Various Examples there are, of this Sort, which it would be needless to alledge. But I would here observe, that the Harmony of Verse does not only consist in its being free from all Asperity, and flowing gently with one steddy Course: Some Asperity is often necessary; a Poem may labour for the Want of, and offend the Ears even with its Smoothness. Many, therefore, much wrong their Judgment, who prefer _Ovid_, _Claudian_, and others, to _Virgil_, on this Account; because, forsooth, they find less Roughness in their Verse: Whereas the very Want of this is their Defect; and _Virgil_ does not more excel them in Versification, than in every other Requisite of a good Poet. He is generally harmonious, full, and fluent; and if he does not always keep one even Tenor, this is not owing to any Inability, but, as we observed before, in another Particular, the Effect of his Choice. He knew it would be more grateful to his Reader to change, now and then, the usual Smoothness of Style, and mix with it somewhat of an agreeable Harshness. His Periods, likewise, he concludes very variously; generally, indeed, where the Verse ends, but often in different Parts of it, with this Foot or that, as the Sound requires. In the Conduct of this Variety, of as small a Moment as it may seem, there's no little Labour, nor less Elegance. It is rarely aimed at by _Ovid_, _Claudian_, _Statius_, and the rest, who fall short of _Virgil_ in that boasted Sweetness of Verse, whenever his Subject demands it of him. It is a great Mistake to think _Ovid_'s Negligence is a Matter of Merit, and that his Verses flow with the more Ease, for his Want of Care in their Composition; because, as it is urged, they are not so much the Effect of Study, as of Nature. Every Excellence in Writing must proceed from both; the more a Poem is laboured, the more natural it shall often seem; and its Stiffness may be owing to Neglect. To illustrate what I have said of _Virgil_, by one Example, out of many: In which of the abovemention'd Poets shall we find any Lines, I will not say that exceed in Harmony and Softness his Description of _Orpheus_ and _Eurydice_, but come near it? The whole is sweet; but nothing can be more so than the following Part of it.

_Illa quidem Stygia nabat jam frigida cymba:
Septem illum totos perhibent ex ordine menses,
Rupe sub aëria, deserti ad Strymonis undam,
Flevisse, & gelidis hæc evolvisse sub antris,
Mulcentem tigres, & agentem carmine quercus.
Qualis populea mœrens Philomela sub umbra
Amissos queritur fœtus, quos durus arator,
Observans, nido implumes detraxit; at illa
Flet noctem, ramoque sedens miserabile carmen
Integrat, & mœstis late loca questibus implet._

She, shiv'ring, in the _Stygian_ Sculler sail'd:
He, sev'n whole Months, 'tis said, beneath a bleak
Aerial Cliff, on _Strymon_'s Desart Bank,
Wept lonesome; and in freezing Caves revolv'd
This mournful Tale; while crouding Oaks admir'd
His Lays, and Tygers soften'd at the Sound.
As when, complaining in melodious Groans,
Sweet _Philomel_ beneath a Poplar Shade,
Mourns her lost Young; which some rough Village Hind
Observing, from their Nest, unfledg'd, has stole:
She weeps all Night; and perch'd upon a Bough,
With plaintive Notes repeated fills the Grove.

In reading these, and the like Passages, how naturally may we apply to the Poet, what he does to his _Daphnis_?

_Tale tuum carmen nobis, divine poeta,
Quale sopor fessis in gramine, quale per æstum
Dulcis aquæ saliente sitim restinguere rivo._

Such, heav'nly Poet, is thy Verse to me,
As Slumbers to the Weary on the Grass;
Such as fresh purling Rills, in Summer's Heat,
To thirsty Travellers.

And again,

_Nam neque me tantum venientis sibilus Austri,
Nec percussa juvant fluctu tam littora, nec quæ
Saxosas inter decurrunt flumina valles._

For neither does the Breeze
Of whisp'ring _Zephyr_, when it rises fresh,
Bless me so much: Nor Waves that beat the Shore;
Nor Rivers, which thro' stony Vallies glide.

Whether it was from Chance, or Design, that these Verses, by their very Sound, represent the Thing they describe, is not worth enquiring. It is certain, some Words are so naturally formed for this Purpose, and Poetry for the proper Disposal of them, that this Felicity can't well be avoided; and 'tis to Chance alone we are often indebted for these beautiful Echo's. Sometimes, however, they are the undoubted Effect of Art. Whence soever they proceed, they frequently occur, and are an ample Proof of the Force and Elegance of the poetic Style. That of _Virgil_ is well known, where we see the Ox knock'd down, and hear the Noise of his sudden Fall, and lumpish Weight,

_Sternitur, exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos._

Down falls the Beast
Dead, trembling, to the Ground.

In the same Book, in the Description of the Naval Course, we have the following Lines:

_Ille inter navemque Gyæ scopulosque sonantes
Radit iter lævum interior, subitusque priorem
Præterit, & metis tenet æquora tuta relictis._
He betwixt _Gyas_, and the sounding Rocks,
Interior, skims the Left Hand Way, and swift
Outstrips his Rival, and beyond the Goal
Smooth shoots along, and gains the safer Seas.

What could better express the swift Motion with which the Ship brush'd by its Rival, and sail'd away clear of the Shelves, into the open Sea. In the last Verse, particularly, the Words seem with their Briskness to protrude one another, and skim away to the Goal. In another Part of the Description the same Image is thus represented:

_Agmine remorum celeri, ventisque vocatis,
Prona petit maria, & pelago decurrit aperto._

With his rowing Crowd,
And all the Winds invited to his Sails,
Gains the prone Deep, and swiftly shoots away
Upon the Ocean.

After this, follows that beautiful Comparison of the sailing of this Ship, and the Flight of the Dove, the Swiftness and Evenness of which is thus most admirably express'd:

----_Mox aëre lapsa quieto
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas._

Then smoothly gliding thro' the quiet Air,
Skims the thin Way, nor moves her nimble Wings.

On the other Hand, how clearly do we see the dishonourable Tardiness with which the inglorious Ship drags on, after she had bulged upon the Rock?

_Cum savo à scepulo multa vix arte revulsus,
Amissis remis, atque ordine debilis uno,
Irrisam, sine honore, ratem Sergestus agebat._

When with much Art and Pain,
Torn from the cruel Rock his Oars half lost,
And one Side maim'd, _Sergestus_ tugg'd along
His slow dishonour'd Skiff.

Can any Thing move slower than the Verse, or with greater Art? But what deserves all Admiration, or rather what exceeds it, is, the same Poet's Description of the Giants Attempt against Heaven, by heaping Mountain upon Mountain.

_Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam
Scilicet, atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum._

Thrice they assay'd on _Pelion_ to heave
_Ossa_; on _Ossa_ still more high to roll
Woody _Olympus_.

How the Verse labours! _Conati imponere--Pelio Ossam_--Without any Elision of the Vowels, it moves on with Difficulty, and totters, as it were, with an unweildy Load, to represent to us the stupendous Image of the straining of the Giants. In the Words, _atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum_, there seems to be a Redundancy of Syllables, and we see in them the enormous Superstructure rise higher and higher, by one Layer of Mountains heaped upon another.

Since, then, it is the Nature of Poetry to express the Things it describes by the very Sound of the Verse; how little Share of the Spirit of it have they, who, by an unnatural Constraint, smother their Thoughts with Words that are dumb to the Sense? And yet this is a Fault many are guilty of; who will set before you a rapid Torrent in the slow Length of an _Alexandrine_; rural Pleasures, in Words that represent the Clangor of a Trumpet; the Din of War, with the soft and easy Strain of Elegy; the Triumphs of Love, with the rough and unpolish'd Address of a Clown; and debase this divine Art with a thousand such Contradictions. A Lover of _Virgil_, that reads him with Discernment, will never fall into these, and the like Enormities; for which Reason, 'tis from him I produced the several Examples that have illustrated each Part of this Dissertation. No one can have Reason to complain of their Number; for nothing else could have so display'd the hidden Charms of Poetry. Let me recommend it, therefore, to my young Audience, who are fired with the Love of so engaging an Art, to make him the Bent of all their Care and Application; let _Virgil_ be often in your Hand, and never out of your Thoughts,

_Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna._

Read him by Day, and meditate by Night.
_Pope_.

[Sidenote: _Sixth Lecture._]

It is a common Opinion, that those mutilated Verses that occur up and down in the _Æneis_, were left so by the Author out of Design, and to add a certain Beauty to his Style. I am rather inclined to think them the Marks of an imperfect Work, and that they would have been fill'd up by the Author, if he had put his last Hand to that divine Performance. It is an agreed Point, that the _Georgics_ are more correct than the _Æneis_; now in them we don't find any of these Mutilations, and in the _Æneis_ one that leaves the Sense imperfect. In a Place or two, indeed, some seeming Reason may be assign'd for this sudden breaking off; _viz._ to represent more naturally the Thing in Description. As in this:

_Italiam non sponte sequor_----

'Tis with Regret I seek
Th' _Italian_ Coasts.

Tho' even here, I would observe by the Way, the unalterable Resolution of _Æneas_, and his abrupt leaving the Queen, might have been express'd as well, if his Speech had ended where it does now, and the Verse been continued on afterwards. It is certain, no good Account can be given of most of these _Hiatus's_; and therefore it is very difficult to find out the Elegance of them. There may be a Grace, possibly, in some seeming Defects; as in those false Quantities, which _Virgil_ sometimes, but sparingly admits, to awaken in his Reader an Attention to the Rules of Poetry, by so becoming a Violation of them. But tho' a Lisp, a Mole, or a slight Cast of the Eye, may add new Beauties to the Beautiful, Lameness and Deformity never can.

But whatever is the Determination concerning _Virgil_ (for I would not be too peremptory in mine) modern Writers, and especially those of our own Country, take, undoubtedly, too great a Liberty in imitating him, who purposely leave many half Lines, both in their _English_ and _Latin_ Poems. This is often but an Indulgence of their Sloth; sometimes of their Want of Words, or of Wit; they leave part of a Verse, because they know not how to finish it; and sometimes, perhaps, it is owing to an Affectation of Elegance. To me, I must confess, these Gaps, in Reading, are always offensive; not to say absurd and ridiculous. But so it is, they receive a Sanction, it seems, from the Authority of _Virgil_. Allowing he left some designedly, it does not follow our Writers have a Pretence to the same Liberty. They shall have it in abundance, if they'll attempt another _Æneis_. In the mean Time, I would have them consider a little the Difference between a Poetical Essay, and an Epic Poem; or if that be their Attempt, the Difference, still, between theirs and _Virgil_'s.

Nor are they guilty of less Presumption, who, under the sacred Name of _Virgil_, arrogantly transgress the Laws of Quantity. In the Course of a long Work, that requires the greatest Nicety and Conduct, such a Liberty, when used with Caution and Modesty, is not only excuseable, but elegant: But what is this to our little poetical Businesses? In vain is _Virgil_ here alledg'd, of all Authorities the greatest, or _Cæsura_, of all Figures the usefullest! 'Tis true, that immortal Poet uses this License sometimes, not only in the _Æneis_, but in the _Georgics_, and even in the _Eclogues_: The Prince of Poets, and the great Arbiter of Verse, might claim a discretionary Power of suspending the Laws of it, as he saw Occasion; but for us to invade his Prerogative, under Pretence of imitating his Example, is the same as if a Subject should usurp the Authority of a King, and justify himself by that very Authority. We are not, however, totally debarr'd this Liberty; nor yet indulged it in the same Degree with _Virgil_; much less ought we to extend it beyond him.

Scarce any Thing is of greater Difficulty, or Moment, in the poetic Style, than the true Use of Epithets. Nothing loads a Poem, or tires the Reader more, than too great a Redundancy of them. Now they are always redundant, unless their Substantives receive from them either new Ideas, or some Illustration and Ornament too of their own. And yet with the Observation of these Rules, it is possible they may be redundant, that is, a Poem may be clogg'd with too many of them. I shall lay before you some Examples of both Kinds of Epithets; and shall take Care to make Choice of such as may not only illustrate the Point before us, but many other Beauties of the poetic Style.

Of the former Sort of Epithets, that add new and distinct Ideas to their Substantives, the following Verses will furnish many. In _Virgil_'s most admirable Description of the Plague raging among the Cattle, in the third Book of the Georgics, we have these Lines:

_Sæpe in honore Deum medio stans hostia ad aram,--
Inter cunctantes cecidit moribunda ministros._

Oft standing at the Altar, and with Wreaths,
And woolly Fillets bound, the Victim Bull,
In the mid Honour of the Gods, fell dead
Between the ling'ring Sacrificer's Hands.

And a few Lines after:

_Labitur infelix studiorum, atque immemor herbæ
Victor equus_.----

Unhappy of his Toils, the Victor Steed
Sinks, and forgets his Food.

Again:

_Tum vero ardentes oculi, atque attractus ab alto
Spiritus, interdum gemitu gravis; imaque longo
Ilia singultu tendunt; it naribus ater
Sanguis, & obsessas fauces premit aspera lingua._

His Eyes are all inflam'd; from his deep Breast
His Breath with Labour heaves; long Sobs and Groans
Distend his Entrails: From his Nostrils drops
Black ropy Gore, and to his Jaws his Tongue
Clotted with Filth, and Putrefaction, cleaves.

Afterwards:

_Ecce! autem duro fumans sub vomere taurus
Concidit, & mixtum spumis vomit ore cruorem,
Extremosque ciet gemitus: it tristis arator,
Mœrentem abjungens fraterna morte juvencum,
Atque opere in medio defixa relinquit aratra._

Smoking beneath the Plough the sturdy Steer
Falls down, and spues a Flood of Gore and Foam,
And groans his last: The pensive Hind unyokes
His mourning Fellow Lab'rer, and amidst
Th' unfinish'd Furrow leaves the sticking Share.

In the foremention'd Description of the Fate of _Orpheus_ and _Eurydice_:

_Illa, quis & me, inquit, miseram, & te perdidit, Orpheu?
Quis tantus furor? en! iterum crudelia retro
Fata vocant, conditque natantia lumina somnus.
Jamque vale; feror ingenti circumdata nocte,
Invalidasque tibi tendens, heu! non tua, palmas._

She; Who, my _Orpheus_, who
Has Me unfortunate and Thee undone?
What Fury This? Again the cruel Fates
Remand me back; Sleep seals my swimming Eyes.
And now Farewel: With Darkness round enclos'd
I flit away; and vainly stretch to Thee
(Ah! now no longer Thine) these helpless Hands.

In these Examples there are only two Epithets, _viz._ _ater_ and _duro_, the second Sort of which I shall speak of presently. But the rest, you may observe, as in _cunctantes ministros, equus infelix studiorum, ardentes oculi, aspera lingua, defixa aratra, &c._ add a new Idea, quite distinct from the general Nature of the Substantive, and rising from the special Adjuncts and Circumstances of the Thing described.

The second Sort of Epithets are those, that are not so distant from the general Nature of the Substantives, and yet not perfectly coincident with it; but bring with them Light and Ornament, tho' not new Ideas. As in the abovemention'd Description of _Virgil_:

----_Timidi damæ, cervique fugaces,
Nunc interque canes, & circum tecta vagantur._
Now the tim'rous Hinds and Deer
Among the Dogs, and round the Houses, rove.

And in the first _Æneid_:

_Nimborum in patriam, loca fœta furentibus Austris,
Æoliam venit; hic vasto rex Æolus antro
Luctantes ventos, tempestatesque sonoras
Imperio premit._----

The Goddess to _Æolia_ comes,
The Land of Storms, where struggling Gusts of Air
Engender: Here, in his capacious Cave,
Great _Æolus_ with absolute Command
Controls, imprisons, and confines in Chains,
The noisy Tempests, and reluctant Winds.

In _timidi damæ, cervi fugaces_, and _tempestates sonoras_, the Epithets we see are of near Affinity with the Substantives; for they express some Adjuncts, or Properties, which are always inherent in them. Therefore are of a different Kind from _tristis aratror, natantia lumina, invalidas palmas_, and the rest above cited, that exhibit Ideas totally distinct from the universal Nature of the Subject, and agree with it only _pro hic & nunc_, as the Schoolmen speak. The Epithets of this distinct Kind entertain the Mind with a more agreeable Variety; but those of the other require, perhaps, more Care and Judgment in the proper Choice of them: For tho' they border upon the general Nature of their Substantives, expressing, as we said, some of their inherent Qualities; yet, we likewise observed, they don't perfectly coincide with them, but express an Idea somewhat different, and yet not totally so. These Expressions, for Instance, the _fearful Deer_, and the _loud Tempests_, are not like those Absurdities we shall have Occasion hereafter to expose; such as _burning Fire_, _cold Ice_, which are but other Words for _hot Heat_, and _cold Cold_; but represent to us some _special_, and less _essential_ Adjuncts of their Substantives; and therefore are not to be indiscriminately used upon every Occasion, but then only, when they are agreeable to the Nature of the Subject. For Instance, because _Virgil_ has said, the _fearful Deer_, and _flitting Stags_, it by no means follows that these Epithets are always applicable, whenever _Stags_ or _Deer_ shall happen to be mention'd. In the Place he used them, they were proper, because the Wonder of what he was describing turn'd wholly upon the Circumstance they describe, _viz._ that the Plague, which was common to all the Beasts, brought them all to such an Equality and Unanimity, that even those that were by Nature _fearful_, and formed for _Flight_, associated with such as lived upon Rapine and Slaughter. So, again, because the same Author has _Luctantes ventos, tempestatesque sonoras_, we are not to conclude we may use the same Epithets, with the same Words, at any Time. He made Choice of them to remind his Reader of the Difficulty of _Æolus_'s Province to restrain the Impetuosity of the boisterous Winds.

Upon this Occasion, I cannot but think, the _Gradus ad Parnassum_, and other Books of that Stamp, no small Prejudice to Learners. Here Boys meet with Heaps of undistinguish'd Epithets, and synonymous Words, before they are come to Maturity of Judgment to make a proper Choice of them; and consequently blindly pick out such as the _Hiatus_ of the Verse requires, with little Regard to Sense, and less to Propriety and Elegance. By relying upon these Helps, they give themselves up to Sloth, their Ideas are confounded, and their Judgments corrupted. The Patrons of these sort of Books have nothing to urge in their Defence, but that by facilitating the Scholar's Pains, they allure him to that Study, which he would otherwise have declined, on account of its Difficulty. But, before these Helps were thought of, Poetry was in as flourishing a Condition as in our Time; and it seems much more adviseable for the Boys to receive all proper Assistances from their Master, or School-fellows, than from these _Fasciculi_. To banish them from the Schools, would only have this Consequence; that it would put the Youth upon reading the best Poets, in order to whet their Imagination, and ripen their Judgment. If these Books are to any allowable, let them be indulged, not to Boys, but to confirm'd Poets, who have Judgment enough to select proper Words out of them. But to these such childish Helps are contemptible. All Things, therefore, consider'd, it would be no Disadvantage to Poetry, if the _Gradus ad Parnassum, Flores Poetarum, Elegantiæ Poeticæ_, and the other _Thesaurus's_ of this Nature, were committed to the Flames, or for ever buried in Oblivion. But to return:

There are other Epithets, of so _general_ a Nature, that in all _poetical Descriptions_ they are _always_ applicable to their Substantives, and yet are different from those I just now mention'd, that _perfectly coincide_ with them. As in _Virgil_:

_Jamque rubescebat radiis mare, & æthere ab alto
Aurora in roseis fulgebat lutea bigis._

And now the Ocean redden'd with the Rays;
And in her rosy Car the blushing Morn
Shone from the Sky.

And in _Ovid_:

----_Ecce! vigil nitido patefecit ab ortu_

_Purpureas Aurora fores, & plena rosarum
Atria._----

Soon as the Morn, in orient Purple drest,
Unbarr'd the Portals of the roseate East.
_Pope_, _Odyss._ IV. 411.

The Epithets, _lutea_, _roseis_, _vigil_, _purpureas_, _&c._ may always be used, in the Description of a bright Morning: And the same Thing may be observ'd of general Descriptions of the Night, the four Seasons of the Year, and the like.

There are others, again, of a middle Kind between the two Sorts of Epithets I have above laid down; which tho' they do not add to their Subjects _distinct Ideas_, yet are _much farther off_ from the general Nature of them, than these I have here mention'd. Of this Sort are the following in the foremention'd Description of the Plague among the Cattle.

_Hinc læti vituli vulgo moriuntur in herbis,
Et dulces animas plena ad præsepia reddunt._

In ev'ry Pasture, on the verdant Grass,
The Calves all die, and render their sweet Souls
Before the plenteous Racks.

And again:

_Non umbræ altorum nemorum, non mollia possunt
Prata movere animum; non qui per saxa volutus
Purior electro campum petit amnis._

No Shades of Groves, no grassy Meads can move
His Soul; nor Streams, which rolling o'er the Stones,
Purer than Crystal, glide along the Fields.

In general it is true, but not always, that Herbs are _joyful_, Meadows _soft_, Rivers _pure_, and the Breath of Calves sweet.

These are the general Rules, and such as are rarely or never to be transgress'd, in the Choice of Epithets: But to insert them only to fill up a Verse, when they are entirely idle and useless, and the Description is neither advanced, heightened, or illustrated by them, is the greatest Fault almost a Writer can be guilty of. From hence the Style is _barren_ and _jejune_; the Sense _relax'd_ and _enervated_. And yet this Fault, great as it is, not only Boys, but some even of the Ancients, and many of our modern Writers, run into. _Buchanan_, in his Paraphrastical Version of the Psalms, has these Verses:

_Dum procul à patria, mœsti, Babylonis in oris,
Fluminis ad liquidas forte sedemus aquas._

Two Lines after he goes on thus:

_Flevimus, & gemitus luctantia verba repressit,
Inque sinus liquidæ decidit imber aquæ._

We had no Occasion to be reminded _once_, much less _twice_ in the Compass of five Verses, that _Water_ was _liquid_; 'tis a Circumstance that served as little for the Information of the Reader, as for the Illustration of what the Poet was describing. _Ovid_ is often guilty this Way; as in the following Verse:

_Eque_ sagittifera _prompsit duo tela pharetra._

Two fatal Shafts
Forth from his _Arrow-bearing_ Quiver drew.

To produce more Instances, would be needless: One small Scruple, I confess, arises to me upon this Head, from observing that _Horace_ and _Virgil_ seem to use some few of these redundant Epithets; and 'twas for this Reason I said above, the Rule I had laid down ought _rarely_ or _never_ to be violated. But whatever we determine concerning those great Authorities (for I know not how to impeach them) it is certain they very sparingly allow themselves this Liberty; and the Writers, perhaps, of that Age, paid so great a Veneration to _Homer_, that they sometimes affected even to imitate his Faults. Notwithstanding, therefore, this Exception, (and what Rule is without one?) I may venture to affirm, that the Laws I proposed, in relation to Epithets, ought punctually to be observed. It is farther to be noted, that the Words _meus_, _tuus_, and _suus_, (which are not properly Epithets) are often brought into a Verse out of Idleness, only to fill it up, and make it flat and languid. Thus _Ovid_, in the Story of _Phaeton_,

----_Balænarumque prementem
Ægæona_ suis _immania terga lacertis._

_Himself Ægæon_ with his Hand _does_ guide
A Whale's enormous Bulk.
[96]
_Tum pater ora_ sui _sacro medicamine nati
Contigit._----

Then o'er his _own_ Son's Face a Tincture pours.

And afterwards:

_Vixque_ suis _humeris candentem sustinet axem._

In the pentameter Verse these Pronouns, it is well known, are remarkably serviceable to constitute the last Foot; but it is one of the poorest Expedients that can be thought of!

I said that _Homer_'s Faults were, perhaps, studiously imitated by the best Writers; for if _Homer_ may at this Time of Day be criticized upon, it would be hard to assign a Reason for the Frequency of his Epithets, many of which are insignificant and superfluous, or to shew wherein consists the Elegance of these sort of Expressions, and innumerable others of the like Nature, that occur up and down in him[98].

----θοη παρα νηì μελαινη.
Θιν' εφ' αλòς πολιης, 'ορóων 'επì óινοπα πóντον.

Sad retiring to the sounding Shore,
O'er the wild Margin of the Deep he hung. _Pope._

----λευκωλενος Ἡρη, white arm'd _Juno_

----βοωπις ποτνια Ἡρη, her full-ey'd Majesty.

These are Difficulties I only propose, not presuming to assert any Thing against the ancientest, and almost the Prince of Poets.

On the other Hand, they are under no less an Error, that will admit only of _very few Epithets_, and arrogantly banish the Use of them. It is certain, they are not only wonderfully adapted to Description, but so peculiarly to Poetry, that the Beauty of its Style chiefly consists in them. They exhibit to the Mind Ideas of _Qualities in the Concrete_, (as the Logicians speak) which strike the Imagination no less than those that are express'd in the _Abstract_. 'Tis plain, from what appears above, that the Writings of the best Poets are full of them, and particularly _Virgil_'s. But tho' the Examples already alleg'd might seem sufficient, yet I beg Leave to add a very remarkable one, where every Substantive has its proper Epithet, to heighten and adorn the Sense. The Passage I mean is at the Beginning of the celebrated Description of the Infernal Shades:

_Vestibulum ante ipsum, primisque in faucibus orci,
Luctus, & ultrices posuére cubilia
Curæ; Pallentesque habitant Morbi, tristisque Senectus,
Et Metus, & malesuada Fames, & turpis Egestas,
(Terribiles visu formæ!) Letumque, Laborque,
Tum consanguineus leti Sopor, & mala mentis_

_Gaudia, mortiferumque adverso in limine Bellum;
Ferreique Eumenidum thalami, & Discordia demens,
Vipereos crines vittis innexa cruentis.
In medio ramos annosaque brachia pandit
Ulmus opaca, ingens; quam sedem somnia vulgo
Vana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus hærent._