Chapter VII: Part 7

In Groves the Beech, in Gardens is the Pine
Most beautiful; the Poplar near the Streams;
On the high Mountain's Tops, the stately Fir.
Yet, lovely _Lycidas_, if oft thou come
To visit me; thou, beauteous, shalt excel
The Pine in Gardens, and the Beech in Groves.

The second Eclogue is _Elegiac_, containing a Love Complaint; so is the latter Part of the fifth, bewailing the Death of _Daphnis_. The Songs, and Pipe, seem reducible to some Kind of _Ode_. And I see no Reason, why the third Eclogue may not be deem'd a short rural _Comedy_, representing the Manners, the Follies, little Tricks, and Quarrels of low Country Life; intermix'd, likewise, with various Strokes of _Satire_, many Examples of which we have elsewhere produced. _Damon_'s Complaint; in the former Part of the eighth Eclogue, is _tragical_, and ends thus:

_Præceps aerii specula de montis in undas
Deferar; extremum hoc munus morientis habeto._

From yon aerial Rock
Headlong I'll plunge into the foamy Deep.
Take this last Gift, which dying I bequeath.

But the Thoughts and Diction of the fourth Eclogue, I before observ'd, favour much of the Heroic.

The Pleasure that arises from this Kind of Poetry, is owing to those beautiful rural Scenes, which it represents; and to that innate Love, which human Nature, depraved as it is, still retains for its primitive Simplicity. Simplicity and the Country I join together, because in Fact they were both united. We are born with a Love for a Country Life, for Nature always pleases us more than Art, not only as it is prior to it in Point of Time, but as the Works of God are more perfect, and more various, than those of Men. Nay, Art itself is then most pleasing, when it represents Nature. Thus Architecture affects the Mind with less Pleasure and Wonder than Poetry, or its Sister Painting because that is the Effect of Art only, these of Nature likewise. And tho' it may be the Business of one Art to describe another, yet it never is so successfully employ'd, as when Nature sits for the Description. Thus, in Painting, the Prospect of a magnificent Structure is beautiful; but how much more agreeable is _that_ which is diversified with Woods, Flowers, Rivers, Mountains, Cottages, Birds, Flocks, Herds, and Husbandmen? And how much would the Pleasure be still heighten'd, could the Picture convey to us the Fragrancy of Flowers, the Warbling of Birds, the Lowing of Oxen, the Bleating of Sheep, and all those other Gratifications that are the Objects, not of the Sight, but of the Hearing, and other Senses. Since Nature, then, and the Country, are the same, and Cities the Effect of Art and Refinement; it is no Wonder, if the former has the Preference. It pleads Prescription for our Choice; if we date our own Infancy from that of the World, we are all by Birth Inhabitants of the Fields and Woods: Thither, therefore, we naturally tend, and, as _Ovid_ says, less justly, upon another Occasion,

----_documenta damus, qua simus origine nati._

Give Proofs of our Original.

For, I'll be bold to say, that they who prefer a City Life, have a natural Affection for a Country one. It is _Horace_'s Observation:

_Nempe inter varias nutritur silva columnas,
Laudaturque domus, longos quæ prospicit agros;
Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret._

That House is most esteem'd, he wisely builds,
That hath a Prospect to the open Fields.
Strive to expel strong Nature, 'tis in vain,
With doubled Force she will return again. _Creech._

And those that make the City Life their Choice, do so, as the Schoolmen speak, only _by Accident_; either to indulge their Vices and Extravagancies; or on account of some Inconveniencies which the Country _sometimes_ labours under; as the Want of Company, or the Opportunity of gaining or increasing a Fortune; not out of any Distaste of the Pleasures of the Country. Who can help sympathizing with _Horace_'s Citizen, and wish him Success in so reasonable a Request?

_O rus, quando ego te aspiciam? quandoque licebit
Nunc veterum libris, nunc somno, & inertibus horis,
Ducere sollicitæ jucunda oblivia vitæ?_

Oh! when shall I enjoy my Country Seat?
Oh! when remov'd from Noise to quiet Peace,
Amidst my learned Books, my Sleep and Ease,
While Hours do smoothly flow, and free from Strife
Forget the Troubles of a busy Life?
_Creech._

And it is impossible to read _Virgil_'s Description of the Country, in his second _Georgic_, without being in Love with the Subject, as well as the Poet. Upon the whole, since Innocence and the Country are even now so agreeable to human Nature, it is easy to see from what Source the Pleasure of Pastoral Poetry springs.

As _Theocritus_ is the first that attempted this Way of Writing, so has he excell'd all others that have follow'd him. _Virgil_ copies, and in some Places literally translates him. He has sometimes, however ventur'd to deviate from his Original, by throwing in a Mixture of the Sublime. If _Theocritus_'s are truer Pastorals; _Virgil_'s may be said, _perhaps_, to be the better Poems. I speak this with some Hesitation; for, it must be own'd, the _Idyllia_ are truly beautiful; and the Author of them, I think, ought to be rank'd among the best Poets. The Sweetness of his Versification (owning partly to his own Ingenuity, and partly to his Doric Dialect) is equall'd by none. Take, only as a Specimen, what first offers, the very Beginning of the first _Idyllium_:

Θ. Ἁδυ τι το ψιθυρισμα, και, ἁ πιτυς, αιπολε, τηνα,
Ἁ ποτι ταις παγαισι, μελισδεται ἁδυ δε και τυ
Συρισδες· μετα Πανα το δευτερον αθλον αποισηι, κ.λ.

Αι. Ἁδιον, ω ποιμαν, το τεον μελος, η το καταχες
Την απο τας πετρας καταλειβεται hυψοθεν hυδωρ.
Αικα ται Μωσαι ταν οιιδα δωρον αγωνται,
Αρνα τυ σακιταν λαψηι γερας· αι δε κ' αρεσκηι
Τηναις αρνα λαβειν, τυ δε ταν οιν hυστερον αξεις.
Θ. Ληις, ποτι ταν νυμφαν, ληις, αιπολε, τηδε καθιξας, κ.λ.
Th. Hadu ti to psithyrisma, kai, ha pitus, aipole, têna,

_Thyr._ Goatherd, that Pine-tree's Boughs by yonder Spring,
In pleasing Murmurs mix, and sweetly sing:
And thou dost sweetly pipe; dear charming Swain,
And well deserv'st the next Reward to _Pan_, &c.

_Goat._ And sweeter Notes thy Pipe, dear Shepherd, fill,
Than murm'ring Springs, that roll from yonder Hill
When Muses claim a Sheep, a Lamb's thy Due;
When they a Lamb, thou shalt receive a Ewe.
_Creech._

_Thyrsis_ then proceeds to lament, in the softest Verse that is possible, _Daphnis_'s unhappy Love, the Beginning of which only I shall recite to you:

Παι ποκ' αρ' ησθ' ὁκα Δαφνις ετακετο· παι ποκα, νυμφαι·
Η κατα Πηνειω καλα τεμπεα, η κατα Πινδω·
Ου γαρ δη ποταμοιο μεγαν ῥοον ειχετ' Αναπω,
Ουδ' Αιτνας σκοπιαν, ουδ' Ακιδος ἱερον hυδωρ.

Where were you, Nymphs? Where did the Nymphs reside?
Where were you then, when _Daphnis_ pin'd and dy'd?
On _Pindus_' Top, or _Tempe_'s open Plain,
Where careless Nymphs, forgetful of the Swain?
For not one Nymph by swift _Asopus_ stood,
Nor _Ætna_'s Cliff, nor _Acis_' sacred Flood.
_Creech._

These harmonious Lines, _Virgil_ imitates, in the following ones, but does not equal.

_Quæ nemora, aut qui vos saltus habuere, puellæ_, &c.

What Groves, ye Nymphs, detain'd you hence? what Lawns?

What _Bion_ and _Moschus_ have done in this Kind, among the _Greeks_, the Learned are no Strangers to. Among the Latins, we have nothing remaining of _Calphurnius Siculus_ and _Aurelius Nemesianus_, but their Names[257]. The Syrinx, or Shepherd's Pipe; the Form, the Number, and the Manner of disposing the _Oaten Reeds_; the Names of the first Inventors of this Sort of Poetry, and other Things of the like Nature, I pass over, as foreign to my Province. Whoever is studious this Way, may consult the Writers of poetical History. I would only observe, that it seems universally agreed upon, that Pastoral owes its Rise and Increase to _Sicily_.

I cannot but think it a Poem less suitable to modern Times, on account of the Difference in the Circumstances of human Life, from what it was anciently. As the Condition of Shepherds is now mean and contemptible; it seems too forced a Prosopopœia to affix to them any Character of Politeness, or to introduce them as Men of Wealth and Education: These Things are contradictory to Truth, and therefore leave no Room for Fiction. The very Foundation, then, of Pastorals, as they are accommodated to the present Times, seems wholly taken away. But setting aside this, it must be own'd, several of the Moderns have attempted them very successfully, both in their own Tongue, and in _Latin_. The _Italians_ and _French_ generally want the Bucolic Genius: Their Shepherds are too genteel; as well bred as Citizens at least, if not as Courtiers, and fall into other Absurdities of the same Kind. Our Countryman _Spencer_ has succeeded much better; and one or two of the present Age seem justly to have deserv'd the Prize.

FOOTNOTES:

[240] Eclog. X. 17.

[241] Eclog. II. 60.

[242] Mr. _Fontenelle_, and Mr. _Pope_, in their Discourses on Pastoral Poetry, are of _Scaliger_'s Opinion. But I might observe, in Favour of Dr. _Trapp_'s, that the most ancient _Greek_ Poets, whose Names are preserv'd, are not supposed to have been Pastoral Writers. The _Greeks_ seem to have been persuaded that their Hymns were the first Productions in Verse: See _Spanheim_'s Notes on _Callim._ p. 2, 3, _&c._

[243] See Bull. Primitiv. & Apostol. Tradit. p. 20, 21.

[244] Eclog. IV. 34.

[245] ℣ 44.

[246] ℣ 35.

[247] Virg. Eclog. IV. 50.

[248] VII. 1.

[249] VIII. 37.

[250] Eclog. II. 28.

[251] Eclog. VII. 65.

[252] ℣ 59.

[253] Met. L. I. ℣ 415.

[254] Lib. I. Ep. X. 21.

[255] Lib. II. Sat. VI. ℣ 56.

[256] Eclog. X. 9.

[257] A small Mistake, which, I suppose, _Joannes Antonius Viperanus_ led our Author into, tho' _Vossius_ expresly guards against it. _Inter Latinos unum habemus Virgilium----quem liceat imitari_, says _Anton. Viperanus_; from whence _Vossius_ imagines he never saw those two Bucolic Writers, (which is more than his Words necessarily imply) and takes Care to let us know, we have four Eclogues of _Nemesianus_, and seven of _Calpurnius_. Mr. _Fontenelle_ gives no disadvantageous Character of both of them, and, in some Particulars, prefers _Calpurnius_ to _Virgil_ himself. _Fabricius_ mentions seven or eight Editions of these two Poets, and they may be seen in the _Corpus Poetarum Latinorum_, publish'd in our Author's Time.

LECTURE XV.
_Of_ DIDACTIC _or_ PRECEPTIVE POETRY.

Human Nature, at the same Time it is desirous of Knowledge, is cautious of confessing its Want of it. The Precepts, therefore, design'd for its Information, must not be obtruded with Moroseness, but insinuated with Mildness; and even its Vanity soothed, to remove its Ignorance. Instructions are the better receiv'd, and sink the deeper upon the Mind, in proportion to the Address with which they are convey'd. There's Sort of Obsequiousness due from the Teacher to the Scholar, and even in this Sense that Maxim of _Juvenal_ holds true:

_Maxima debetur puero reverentia._

Hence it is, that Precepts deliver'd in Verse, are imbib'd with so much Pleasure; and are held in so great Esteem, that they constitute one distinct Species of Poetry. Many Rules we have already given, concerning the other Branches of it, and are now come to teach even the Art of Teaching. Upon this Subject I am under little Temptation of rifling the Stores of the Learned: I don't know one that has treated of it, except the ingenious Author of the _Essay on Virgil's Georgics_, prefix'd to Mr. _Dryden_'s Translation of them. And he, indeed, has so exhausted the Subject, that it is as hard to come after him, as it is after the great _Dryden_, or his greater Original.

From what has been said, it appears, that Poetry is in its Nature adapted to deliver Precepts of any Kind, which are sure to be learnt with more Ease, and retain'd the more faithfully by the Help of it. Laws, and religious Maxims, were anciently promulged in Verse; and Priests and Poets were the same: And even to this Day it is a prudent Custom to have religious Lessons drawn up in Verse for the Sake of Youth: In this Respect it may more truly be said

----_pueris dant crustula blandi
Doctores, elementa velint ut discere prima._

Thus Teachers bribe their Boys with Figs and Cake,
To mind their Books.
_Creech._

For by Poetry the very _Elements_ that are taught are soften'd into Allurements. The common Grammar, we see, is Verse; and tho' the Language of it, indeed, is Prose, whatever the Measure be, yet it is a sufficient Proof, that, in the Opinion of the past and present Age, Precepts and Poetry are no ways inconsistent: And it were to be wish'd, that not only Rules of Rhetoric and Logic, but of Philosophy, and all other Sciences, were drawn up in a more entertaining Manner. Not that _technical Words_, or _Terms of Art_, as they are call'd, should be excluded; for it is impossible any Science should be without them: But they might be so dress'd up, as to invite, not deter the Pains of the Learner. But these are Observations less material to our Purpose, and I only make them by the Way. I now proceed to observe, that there are four Kinds of Didactic Poems, _viz._ those that relate to moral Duties; or philosophical Speculations; or the Business or Pleasures of Life; or, lastly, to Poetry itself.

Of the _moral_ Poems we shall say but little. We have elsewhere observ'd, that these have scarce any Thing of Poetry in them but their Measure, and therefore hardly deserve to be class'd under the Head of it: Such are _Pythagoras_'s _Golden Verses_; the _Sentences_ of _Theognis_; the Ποιημα Νουθετικον of _Phocylides_. We have nothing of this Kind of the _Latin_ Writers, or of our own[260], worth mentioning; and, in short, they have nothing in common with a Poem, except this, that a Life led according to the strictest Rules of Virtue, resembles the best, and the noblest.

But, on the other Hand, nothing shines more in Verse, than Disquisitions of natural History. We then see the strictest Reasoning join'd to the politest Expression. Poetry and Philosophy are happily united: The latter affords abundant Matter for Description; it opens a large Field for Fancy, and strikes out new Ideas, which the other expresses with suitable Dignity. What Subject can be a more poetical one than

----_Errantem Lunam, Solisque labores,
Unde hominum genus, & pecudes, unde imber, & ignes,
Unde tremor terris, qua vi maria alta tumescant
Obicibus ruptis, rursusque in seipsa residant;
Arcturum, pluviasque Hyadas, geminosque Triones:
Quid tantum Oceano properent se tingere soles
Hyberni, vel quæ tardis mora noctibus obstet?_
The wand'ring Moon, the Labours of the Sun;
Whence Men, and Beasts, whence Rain, and Lightnings come;
The Constellations of the northern Cars,
_Arcturus_, and the show'ry _Hyades_:
Why Suns, in Winter, haste so swift to tinge
Themselves in Ocean; and what Cause retards
The sluggish Nights.

What can be more suitable to the Dignity of a Poem, than to celebrate the Works of the great Creator? What more agreeable to the Variety of one, than to describe the Journies of the heavenly Orbs, the Rise of Thunder, and other Meteors, the Motion of the Earth, and the Tides of the Sea; the attractive Force of the Magnet, the impulsive Motion of Light, and the slower Progression of Sound; and innumerable other Wonders, in the unbounded Storehouse of Nature. I shall say nothing, at present, of _Aratus_ among the _Greeks_, or of _Manilius_ among the _Latin_ Writers; _Lucretius_, alone, shall suffice, instead of all the rest. He, indeed, is so far from celebrating the Creator, that he supposes there is none; but, allowing him his Hypothesis, his Poem is truly philosophical. He had deserv'd much greater Praise, had he corrected his Notions in Philosophy, and his Style in Poetry; for in this Particular, also, he is often deficient. The Asperity of his Versification must be imputed rather to the Times he liv'd in, (_viz._ the Age between _Ennius_ and _Virgil_) than to the Subject he treated of; which, whatever the common Opinion be, not only admits of the Harmony of Numbers, but requires it. The following Directions of _Virgil_ about burning the Turf, part of which we cited before, upon another Occasion, don't lose any Thing of their Philosophy by their Smoothness:

[262] _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 succus in herbas:
Seu durat magis, & venas astringit hiantes,
Ne tenues pluviæ, rapidive potentia solis
Acrior, aut Boreæ penetrabile frigus adurat._

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; lest driv'ling Show'rs
Shou'd soak too deep, or the Sun's parching Rays,
Or _Boreas_' piercing Cold shou'd dry the Glebe.

And even _Lucretius_ himself is sometimes more flowing and sonorous, not only when he addresses himself to _Venus_, as in the following beautiful Passage:

_Te, Dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila cœli,
Adventumque tuum; tibi suaves dædala tellus
Summittit flores; tibi rident æquora ponti,
Pacatumque nitet, diffuso lumine, cœlum._

At thy Approach, great Goddess, strait remove
Whate'er are rough, and Enemies to Love;
The Clouds disperse, the Winds do swiftly waft,
And reverently in Murmurs breathe their last.
The Earth with various Art (for thy warm Pow'rs
That dull Mars feels) puts forth her gawdy Flow'rs.
To pleasure thee, ev'n lazy Lux'ry toils,
The roughest Sea puts on smooth Looks, and Smiles:
The well-pleas'd Heav'n assumes a brighter Ray
At thy Approach, and makes a double Day.
_Creech._

But sometimes, likewise, when he unfolds the Principles of Matter, the Causes of Things, and the Phænomena of Nature. It is certain, _Virgil_ is much indebted to him, tho' he has much improv'd his Manner.

Another Imperfection in _Lucretius_ is, that he never makes any Excursions into poetical Fiction. Some Digressions he has, but they are rather philosophical, than poetical; and therefore don't diversify the Subject, nor afford the Reader sufficient Refreshment. He has some, indeed, philosophical; but then they are impious, such as reason against Providence, the Foundations of Religion, and the Immortality of the Soul. One, however, I must except, that upon the Plague of _Athens_; which contains, indeed, a poetical Description, but nothing of poetical Fable. It must be own'd, this Poet reasons too much in the Manner of the Schools, the Philosopher appears too open, he wants the Gentility to conceal his Beard, and temper his Severity. Poetry and Philosophy, indeed, were both to be join'd together, but the one ought to be as the Handmaid to the other; which _Virgil_ would not have fail'd to have taken care of, had he been engag'd on such a Subject. Not so _Lucretius_, who appears more a Philosopher than a Poet, and yet of Poets not the meanest: _Virgil_, in his _Georgics_, appears more a Poet than a Husbandman, and yet of Husbandmen the greatest.

I can't see why, in a Work of this Kind, Nature may not be so explain'd, as to admit sometimes of poetical Fiction; in the same Manner that _Virgil_ describes the _Cyclops_ forging the Thunderbolts?

[264] _Tres imbris torti radios, tres nubis aquosæ
Addiderant, rutili tres ignis, & alitis Austri:
Fulgores nunc terrificos, sonitumque, metumque,
Addiderant operi, flammisque sequacibus iras._
Three Forks of darted Hail, of wat'ry Cloud
Three more they added; three of glaring Fire,
As many of the winged southern Wind;
Then dreadful Flashes, and the roaring Noise,
And Rage, and Terror, and avenging Flames.

Here the Formation of the Thunder is poetically feign'd; the Matter and the Adjuncts explain'd physically; Philosophy is made the Basis, and Poetry the Superstructure.

I know of no modern Poem of this Sort worth mentioning, except _Buchanan's Sphere_, which is a Work by no means contemptible. But as Natural Philosophy has, by the Help of Experiments, been lately brought to much greater Perfection than ever; this Kind of Poetry, no doubt, would have made proportionable Advances, if the same Age that shew'd a _Boyle_, a _Halley_, and a _Newton_, had produc'd a _Virgil_; or if we had not been so much worse Poets than the Ancients, as we are better Philosophers. We have, indeed, some poetical Essays on the[265]_Circulation of the Blood_, the _Air-pump_, the _Microscope_, and the _Telescope_, and the like: But these are short _Descriptions_, no ways reducible to the Species of Poetry before us. 'Tis true, they may in some Sense be reduc'd under the Title of _Didactic_, tho' not of _Preceptive_ Poetry; they _teach_ by _Description_, not by _Precept_.

But the next Kind I mention'd, relating to the _Business_ or _Pleasures_ of Life, do both. Under this Head _Virgil_'s _Georgics_ stand foremost, containing the most useful Rules for Husbandry in all its Branches, Agriculture, the Method of raising Trees, or Cattle, or tending of Bees. The Pleasure that naturally results from reading them, is chiefly owing to the Pleasure and Advantage which attends a Country Life. Here _Virgil_ has _imitated Hesiod_, as he has _Theocritus_ in his Eclogues, and _Homer_ in the _Æneis_; I should rather have said, has _exceeded_ each in their peculiar Way of Writing, unless, perhaps, we ought to except _Theocritus_: But _Hesiod_ he his left so far behind him, that he scarce deserves to be mention'd in the Comparison. The good old Man of _Ascræa_ is at best but a downright Yeoman, whereas _Virgil_ appears with the Learning of a Scholar, and the Elegance of a Gentleman. From his _Georgics_, then, all the Maxims that relate to this Subject must be illustrated.

The first Rule I would lay down, is, That we ought to select with Judgment such Circumstances as are capable of shining in Verse; not that we are to omit the gravest Precepts, but to express them by their most poetical Adjuncts:

_Jam vinctæ vites, jam falcem arbusta reponunt;
Jam canit extremos effœtus vinitor antes:
Sollicitanda tamen tellus, pulvisque movendus;
Et jam maturis metuendus Jupiter uvis._

And now the Vines are ty'd, nor longer ask
The Pruning Hook; the weary Dresser now
With Songs salutes his outmost Ranks complete:
Yet must we still sollicit the dull Mold;
And the ripe Grapes have still to fear from _Jove_.

I need not explain myself any farther. To produce all the Instances of this Kind, would be to transcribe the _Georgics_. 'Tis with the same View the great Author of them is so copious upon the different Properties of Trees and Cattle; the Combat of Bulls; the Conduct and Politics of Bees, and the like.

To vary the Form of Instruction, and to add Life to his Precepts, he sometimes instils them as Matters of Fact, and conveys them under the Appearance of a Narration:

_Quid dicam, jacto qui semine cominus arva
Insequitur, cumulosque ruit male pinguis arenæ?_

What shou'd I say of him; who, having sown
His Grain, with ceaseless Industry proceeds,
And spreads abroad the Heaps of barren Sand?
[268]
_Quid, qui, ne gravidis procumbat culmus aristis,
Luxuriem segetum tenera depascit in herba?_

Or what of him; who, lest the Stalks, o'ercharg'd
By the plump Ears, shou'd sink beneath their Weight,
Crops their Luxuriance in the tender Blade?

And in another Place:

_Et quidam seros hyberni ad luminis ignes
Invigilat, ferroque faces inspicat acuto;
Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem,
Et foliis undam trepidi despumat aheni._

One watches late by Light of Winter Fires;
And with the sharpen'd Steel for Torches splits
The spiky Wood.----
Or of sweet Must boils down the luscious Juice;
And skims with Leaves the trembling Cauldron's Flood.

Sometimes he foretels the ill Consequences of a contrary Practice:

_Quod nisi & assiduis terram insectabere rastris,
Et sonitu terrebis aves, & ruris opaci
Falce premes umbras, votisque vocaveris imbrem;
Heu! magnum alterius frustra spectabis acervum,
Concussaque famem in silvis solabere quercu._

Unless then with assiduous Rakes thou work
The Ground, and chase the Birds with scaring Noise;
And with the crooked Pruner lop the Shades
Of spreading Trees, and pray to Heav'n for Show'rs,
Another's Store, in vain, alas! admir'd,
Thou shalt behold, and from a shaken Oak
Thy hungry Appetite in Woods relieve.

Or he describes the ill Effects he has observ'd to attend it:

_Semina vidi equidem multos medicare serentes,
Et nitro prius, & nigra perfundere amurca,_ &c.

_Vidi lecta diu, & multo spectata labore,
Degenerare tamen._

Many I've known to medicate their Seed,
In Nitre steep'd, and the black Lees of Oil;
And tho' o'er mod'rate Fire
Moist, and precipitated, and with Pain
Long try'd, and chosen, oft they have been prov'd Degen'rate.

By this agreeable Variety the Reader's Attention is wonderfully awaken'd, tho' he sees not the Reason of it; and the Poet's Art is the more to be admir'd, because it escapes Observation.

But the greatest Ornaments of this sort of Poems, are the frequent _Excursions_ into some more noble Subject, which seem'd naturally to arise out of that the Poet is treating of. Sometimes, for Instance, he runs back into _History_ and _Antiquity_, or, perhaps, the very Origine of Things:

_Ante Jovem nulli subigebant arva coloni,_ &c.
E're _Jove_ was King, no Hinds subdu'd the Glebe.

And again:

_Prima Ceres ferro mortales vertere terram
Instituit,_ &c.

'Twas _Ceres_ first taught Mortals with the Share
To cut the Ground.

Sometimes he makes Reflections on the Condition of Human Life:

_Optima quæque dies miseris mortalibus ævi
Prima fugit, subeunt morbi, tristisque senectus,_ &c.

The best of Life, which wretched Mortals share,
First flies away: Diseases, sick Old Age,
And Pain, and Death's Inclemency, succeed.

At another Time he heightens his Subject with _Astronomy_, and _Natural Philosophy_; an Instance of which I have already cited, from the _Georgics_: But I cannot help adding one more, not only as it makes very remarkably for our present Purpose, but is, moreover, an abundant Proof of what I before advanc'd, that Natural Philosophy might be express'd in the sweetest Numbers, and consequently is capable of much smoother Versification than that of _Lucretius_. The Poet, then, having mention'd the Noise of Crows as a Sign of fair Weather, proceeds thus:

_Haud equidem credo, quia sit divinitus illis
Ingenium, & rerum fato prudentia major:
Verum ubi tempestas, & cœli mobilis humor
Mutavere vias, & Jupiter humidus Austris
Densat erant quæ rara modo, & quæ densa, relaxat;
Vertuntur species animorum; & pectora motus
Nunc alios; alios, dum nubila ventus agebat,
Concipiunt: Hinc ille avium concentus in agris,
Et lætæ pecudes, & ovantes gutture corvi._

Not that I think an Ingeny divine
To them is giv'n, or Prescience of Events
In Fate superior: But when changeful Winds
Alter the various Temper of the Sky;
And the moist Ether what before was dense
Relaxes, and condenses what was rare:
The shifting Phantasms of their Minds are turn'd;
And now within their Breasts new Passions move,
Diff'rent from those they felt, when driving Blasts
Dispers'd the Clouds: Hence that Concent of Birds
Chirping in Chorus; hence the Joy of Beasts,
And Flocks of Crows exulting in the Fields.

Often he digresses into _Fable_ and _Fiction_, as in that beautiful Episode of _Orpheus_ and _Eurydice_: And still more often into _poetical Descriptions_, as those of the perpetual Spring in _Italy_, and the bleak Winter in _Scythia_; of the Happiness of a Country Life; of the various Prognostications of the Weather; of the Prodigies that foretold the Death of _Cæsar_; and, to name no more, of the Murrain among the Cattle. Of which, I wonder the foremention'd Author of the _Essay on Virgil's Georgics_ should say, that _Virgil_ seems in it to have summon'd up all his Might to equal the Description of the Plague in _Lucretius_, since the one is as much beyond the other in the Ingenuity of the Composition, as it is inferior to it, in the Dignity of the Subject; and the Plague in _Lucretius_ is exceeded by that of _Virgil_, as much as Beasts are by Men. Upon the whole, this is deservedly esteem'd the most finish'd Piece of all _Virgil_'s Works; I need not add, that it is the compleatest in its Kind, of any we now have, or the World ever saw.

The Moderns have produc'd nothing in this Kind, except _Rapin_'s Books of Gardening, and the celebrated Poem on Cyder by an ingenious Author, that not long since resided among us; who, if he had enjoy'd the Advantage of _Virgil_'s Language, would have been second to _Virgil_ in a much nearer Degree. As long as the fluctuating State of our Tongue will permit, this _English Georgic_ shall infallibly flourish,

----_& honos erit huic quoque Pomo._

And to this Apple Honours shall be paid.

Among the _Pleasures_ of a Country Life, we may reckon _Hunting_, _Fishing_, _Hawking_, and the like; which are excellent Subjects for Didactic Verse, and are very fruitful of poetic Matter. We have only some Essays of this Sort, and those by modern Hands, except only _Gratius_'s _Cynægeticon_, which owes all its Value to Fortune, rather than any true Merit of its own; _viz._ that it has the Advantage of being writ in the _Augustan_ Age, and being recommended by _Ovid_, a Contemporary, in the following Verse,

_Aptaque venanti Gratius arma dabit._

And _Gratius_ to the Hunter Arms supplies.

_Oppian_'s _Halieutica_ and _Cynegetica_ are scarce to be reckon'd among the Writings of the Ancients, but to be plac'd rather in the Middle Age[276].

The Rules for writing upon these Subjects are the same with what I have mention'd under the _Georgics_; I have no Occasion, therefore, to add new ones here. The same may be said for that Species of Poetry, that consists in teaching the _Art of Poetry_; the Manner of Writing is the same, as far as the Difference of the Matter will admit.

The Pieces that have been writ in this Way, are known to all; and Poetry seems never to have employ'd her Time better, than upon herself. The Ancients have left us only one Specimen of this Kind, but such as may compensate for all the rest, _Horace_'s Epistle to the _Piso's_; a Work that ought to be got by Heart by all true Lovers of Poetry, in which 'tis hard to say, whether we should admire the Wit or Judgment most, both in the Choice of the Precepts, and the Manner of delivering them. Among the Moderns, the celebrated _French_ Poet[277], and several of our Countrymen[278], have succeeded, each in his native Tongue, very happily.

These are the several Kinds of Didactic Poetry, with which the Writers of the past or present Age have furnish'd us. In this Number I might reckon Ovid _of the Art of Love_; but I pass it by, on account of its Levity, not to say its Indecency. Much less excusable are _Claudius Quilletus_, and _Hieronymus Fracastorius_, among the Moderns; who, it were to be wish'd, had chosen Subjects less obnoxious to Censure.

I would, however, observe, that any Thing in the World may be the Subject of this Kind of Poem: The Business or Recreations of the City, or the Country; even the Conduct of common Life, and civil Converse: But none more suitable than Arts and Sciences. And among those, which of them so proper to receive Instructions from the Hand of Poetry, as its two Sister Arts, Painting and Music? In the former, particularly, there is Room for the most entertaining Precepts concerning the Disposal of Colours; the Arrangement of Lights and Shades; the secret Attractives of Beauty; the various Ideas which make up that one; the distinguishing between the Attitudes proper to either Sex, and every Passion; the representing Prospects, of Buildings, Battles, or the Country; and, lastly, concerning the Nature of Imitation, and the Power of Painting. What a boundless Field of Invention is here? what Room for Description, Comparison, and poetical Fable? How easy the Transition, at any Time, from the Draught to the Original, from the Shadow to the Substance? And, from hence, what noble Excursions may be made into History, into Panegyric upon the greatest Beauties or Hero's of the past or present Age? The Task, I confess, is difficult; but, according to that noted, but true Saying,[279]So are all Things that are great. Let the Man, therefore, that is equal to such an Undertaking, be fir'd with a noble Ambition to attempt a Work untouch'd before; and let the _Georgics_, which have been our great Example, furnish him with this noble Incentive:

----_Tentanda via est, qua me quoque possim
Tollere humo, victorque virum volitare per ora._

A Way by me, too, must be try'd, to raise
Myself from Earth, and fill the Mouths of Men.

FOOTNOTES:

[258] Sat. XIV. ℣ 47.

[259] Hor. L. I. ℣ 25.

[260] Mr. _Pope_ has since struck out a new Scheme of Ethic Poems, in which he has deserv'd as much of the Moral World, as Sir _Isaac Newton_ did of the Natural.

[261] Virg. Æn. L. I. 746. & Georg. II. 479, &c.

[262] Georg. I. 86.

[263] Lib. I. ℣ 6.

[264] Æn. VIII. 429.

[265] Mus. Angl. Vol. I. & II.

[266] Geor. II. 416.

[267] Geor. I. 104.

[268] ℣ 111.

[269] ℣ 291.

[270] ℣ 155.

[271] ℣ 193.

[272] ℣ 125.

[273] ℣ 147.

[274] Geor. III. 66.

[275] Geor. I. 415.

[276] _Nemesianus_'s _Cynegeticon_, I suppose, is omitted, as being still of a later Age, tho' he had the good Fortune, as _Vossius_ observes, to be read in the Schools in the Time of _Charles the Great_; and may still bear to be read in better Times than when Emperors could not write their own Name.

[277] _Boileau_.

[278] Earl of _Roscommon_, and Mr. _Pope_.

[279] Difficilia quæ Pulchra.

[280] Geor. III. 8.

LECTURE XVI.
_Of_ LYRIC POETRY.

Spoke in the THEATRE,
before the _Philological Act_,
_July 10, 1713_.

The Subject I now engage in, however mean it may appear in my Hands, is not only noble in itself; but, at this Time, peculiarly seasonable: At this Time, I say, when Odes and Music are the Instruments of our present Festivity, and Peace restor'd to _Europe_, under the Conduct of the greatest and best of Queens, the happy Occasion of it. And no Kind of Poetry is so proper to express either our Joy, or the Heroes Triumphs, as the Lyric:

_Quem virum, aut heroa, lyra, vel acri
Tibia sumes celebrare, Clio?_

What Man, what Hero wilt thou claim,
What Godhead, Muse? For whom inspire
Thy warbling Pipe or Lyre?
_Oldsworth._

Since, then, it is incumbent upon me to bear a Part in this Solemnity, let me prevail with my usual Audience, and those additional Guests that make up this chearful Assembly, to restrain their Impatience for the Verses and Orations, that are to follow, only while I lay before them the Original and Antiquity of Lyric Poetry, the distinguishing Properties of it, the Variety of its Matter, and the Difference between modern Writers in this Way, and the ancient.

That this is the most ancient Kind of Poem, is pretty evident. _Jubal_, in sacred Writ, is said to be the first Inventor of musical Instruments; and little Doubt is to be made, but vocal Music was added to them. And we are farther told, by a _Jewish_ Author, of venerable Antiquity[282], tho' his Works are not admitted into the Canon, that the same _which found out musical Tunes, recited Verses in Writing_. We have before observ'd, that Poetry took its Rise from those Festival Hymns which were sung at the Conclusion of Harvest, in Gratitude to the Deity. Odes, therefore, and Poetry, date their Original from the same Æra: And, in Truth, if we consider the internal Motions of the Soul, it will seem very probable that Poetry, which is so peculiarly adapted to express the several Emotions of Joy, or Praise, or Gratitude, owes its Rise to Nature herself, and was therefore join'd with Music. We have no Instance of Poetry older than the celebrated Song, or rather Ode, of _Moses_[283]. The Antiquity of the other Hymns mention'd in sacred History, and, particularly, the Collection of them in the Book of _Psalms_, is so well known, that I shall dwell no longer upon this Particular.

As to the Nature of the Lyric Poem, it is, of all Kinds of Poetry, the most poetical; and is as distinct, both in Style, and Thought, from the rest, as Poetry in general is from Prose. I have before observ'd, the Peculiarity of its Diction; the Thought, only, now comes under Consideration. Now this is the boldest of all other Kinds, full of Rapture, and elevated from common Language the most that is possible; so that what _Horace_ says at the Beginning of one of his Odes, may not improperly be applied to all the rest:

_Odi profanum vulgus, & arceo._

I hate, I scorn the Vulgar Throng.

Some Odes there are, likewise, in the free and loose Manner, which seem to avoid all Method, and yet are conducted by a very clear one; which affect Transitions, seemingly, without Art, but, for that Reason, have the more of it; which are above Connexion, and delight in Exclamations, and frequent Invocation of the Muses; which begin and end abruptly, and are carried on thro' a Variety of Matter with a sort of divine _Pathos_, above Rules and Laws, and without Regard to the common Forms of Grammar.

Hence, then, we learn the chief Property of Lyric Poetry, _viz._ that it abounds with a Sort of Liberty which consists in Digressions and Excursions. _Pindar_ set his Successors this Example, insomuch that this Style, when applied to Odes, is generally call'd Pindaric; not that he is to be esteem'd the Inventor of it: For it is plain that he, and the rest of the _Grecians_, receiv'd their Learning from the Nations of the East, the _Jews_ and _Phœnicians_: And it is well known, the eastern Eloquence abounded not only with Metaphors, and bold Hyperboles, but in long Digressions; as is sufficiently evident from the sacred Writings. The _Roman Pindar_ often imitates the _Theban_, and sometimes exceeds him, even in his characteristic Excellence. Thus in that Ode, where he addresses himself to the Ship that bore so valuable a Freight as _Virgil_,

_Sic te, Diva potens Cypri_, &c.

at the Conclusion of the eighth Verse, he inveighs against the Temerity of Mankind, and pursues this Argument to the End of the Ode, which is not a very short one. So, again, speaking of the Tree which had like to have fallen upon him,

_Ille & nefasto te posuit die_, &c.

a few Lines after he adds;

_Quam pene furvæ regna Proserpinæ,
Et judicantem vidimus Æacum,
Sedesque descriptas piorum; &
Æoliis fidibus querentem

Sappho puellis de popularibus;
Et Te sonantem plenius aureo,
Alcæe, plectro, dura navis,
Dura fugæ mala, dura belli?_

How near was I to Realms of Night?
Where _Minos_ does in Judgment sit;
Where pious Shades walk o'er the Plains;
Where _Proserpine_ and Darkness reigns:

Where _Sappho_'s warbling Measures tell
By what disastrous Cause she fell:
_Alcæus_, in sublimer Strains,
Of Toils by Sea and Land complains.
_Oldsw._

He then expatiates into their Praises, and so concludes this elegant Ode with them. It is, indeed, just Matter of Complaint, that we have only some Fragments of both these Poets remaining, to whom we owe the Invention of the two chief Kinds of Lyric Poetry. In this loose Way of Writing, the Poet just touches upon the Subject at first propos'd, and strait diverts to another:

[287]----_Cætera fluminis
Ritu feruntur, nunc medio alveo
Cum pace delabentis Etruscum
In mare, nunc lapides adesos
Stirpesque raptas, & pecus, & domos,
Volventis una, non sine montium
Clamore, vicinæque silvæ;
Cum fera diluvies quietos
Irritat amnes._

All worldly Things, like Waters, flow,
Sometimes too high, sometimes too low:
Sometimes the even Current gently glides
Down to the Deep, and oft with mighty Roar
Bears Rocks upon its swelling Tides,
Sweeps Herds and Houses from the Shore,
And Trunks of Trees; the Rivers quit their Bounds,
Whilst ev'ry lofty Hill, and neighb'ring Wood resounds.
_Oldsworth._

Nothing can describe the unbounded Nature of this Kind of Ode better than those Lines of _Horace_, which, at the same Time, give us a lively Instance of it. We may add, to the same Purpose, his Description of the _Theban_ Poet;

_Monte decurrens velut amnis, imbres
Quem super notas aluere ripas,
Fervet, immensusque ruit profundo
Pindarus ore._

_Pindar_'s a mighty raging Flood,
That from some Mountain flows,
Rapid, and warm, and deep, and loud,
Whose Force no Limits knows.
_Oldsworth._

From what has been said, some will be induc'd to think, that to write a Lyric Poem, which is indulg'd with so many Liberties, is the easiest Thing imaginable: But, in Reality, it is the most difficult in every Respect, except its Shortness, as it is the most elegant. It demands not only a flowing Imagination, Brightness, Life, Sublimity, and Elegance, but the nicest Art, and finest Judgment, so as to seem luxuriant, and not to be so; and under the Shew of transgressing all Laws, to preserve them. For it is not impossible but a Writer's Fire may be temper'd with the severest Judgment; and Poets may be said, tho' Lovers cannot, to be _mad with Reason_.

Those Digressions which quite leave the Subject, and never return to it again, please me less than some others of a very different Kind. The former, no doubt, are defensible, and sometimes highly commendable; for a Poet is not always oblig'd to dwell upon the same Argument from one End to the other; and I would rather call them Transitions, than Digressions: But the Digressions which I chiefly admire, are such as _take Occasion_ from some _Adjunct_ or _Circumstance_ of the Subject, to pass on to _somewhat else_ not totally distinct from it, with which the Imagination having been diverted for some Time, new Matter starts up, and from some new Adjunct of that, the Poet is brought back, of a sudden, to his first Design. I cannot produce a better Instance of this, out of _Horace_ himself, than from a late Ode of one of our own Countrymen[289], who, since he has paid the Debt of Nature, may, without Envy, receive the Tribute of our Praise; that beautiful Ode, I mean, upon the Death of the famous Dr. _Pocock_; where the Poet describes his Travels to the East, in these Words[290]:

_Quin nunc requiris tecta virentia
Nini ferocis, nunc Babel arduum,
Immane opus! crescentibusque
Vertice sideribus propinquum!
Nequicquam; amici disparibus sonis
Eludit aures nescius artifex,
Linguasque miratur recentes,
In patriis peregrinus oris.
Vestitur hinc tot sermo coloribus,
Quot Tu, Pococki, dissimilis Tui
Orator effers_, &c.

Now _Ninus'_ Walls you search with curious Eye,
Now _Babel_'s Tow'r, the Rival of the Sky.
In vain! the mad Attempt new Tongues confound,
The Toil eluded by discordant Sound:
To his own Sire the Son _Barbarian_ grown,
Unletter'd, starts a Language not his own.
Hence various Bounds to Nations set by Speech; }
But not to You, who, Orator in each, }
His proper Tongue th'admiring Native teach. }

With what Elegance does the Poet divert from his Purpose, that he may bring in a beautiful Description of _Babel_, and the Confusion of Tongues: Then, with no less Elegance, he returns to the Praise of his venerable Traveller, surprizingly skill'd in most of them. Afterwards, with a peculiar Delicacy, his Comment upon _Joel_ is hinted at, and from thence Occasion taken to represent that terrible Day of the Lord, which the Prophet speaks of, and then the holy Ardour of his Interpreter:

_Ac sicut albens perpetua nive
Simul favillas, & cineres sinu
Eructat ardenti, & pruinis
Contiguas rotat Ætna flammas:
Sic te trementem, te nive candidum,
Mens intus urget, mens agit ignea_
_Sequi reluctantem Joelem
Per tonitru, aereasque nubes._

_Annon pavescis, dum Tuba pallidum
Ciet Sionem? dum tremulum polo
Caligat astrum, atque incubanti
Terra nigrans tegitur sub umbra?
Quod agmen! heu! quæ turba sequacibus
Tremenda flammis! quis strepitantium
Flictus rotarum est! O Pococki
Egregie! O animose Vatis
Interpres abstrusi! O simili fere
Correpte flamma!_----

As _Ætna_'s lucid with perpetual Snow,
While heaving Flames within its Entrails glow;
O'er the hoar Frost the raging Fury's spread,
And ruddy Flouds of Fire beam round its Head:
So trembling thou, and venerably white,
Thy urging Soul tries sacred _Sion_'s Height,
Attends thy _Joel_, clad in dark Array,
Where Clouds and Lightnings mark his awful Way.
Hark! dost not shudder while the Trumpet's Sound
The tott'ring Tow'rs of _Solyma_ rebound?
Behold what Troops come rolling from afar
With Gleams of Terror, and the Din of War!
In the bright Front consuming Fires ride,
And Slaughter stalks indignant by their Side.
Oh! whither, whither tends thy eager Course,
Rapt by thy own, thy kindred Prophet's Force?

The Matter and Thoughts are sublime and elegant, the Transitions artful; and it is, in short, all over wonderful.

This, likewise, is a Peculiarity in Lyric Poetry, that (as the Name implies) it is attended with musical Instruments more than any other. _More than any other_, I say, because there's no Necessity that Odes should be always sung; they are often repeated: Nor is Music so peculiar to them, as to be suitable to no other Poems; for the Flute was anciently join'd with Elegy; and now a-days we see other Kinds of Poetry accompanied with Music, nay, even Prose itself; tho' anciently, I say, it was thought more _peculiarly_ adapted to the Ode. Hence we find many Ideas among the Lyrics, that we meet with no where else; hence the frequent mention of musical Instruments, I may say the frequent Invocation of them.

----_Age dic Latinum,
Barbite, carmen._
[292]
----_Nec turpem senectam
Degere, nec cithara carentem._

[293]----_Si neque tibias
Euterpe cohibet, nec Polyhymnia
Lesboum refugit tendere barbiton._

Which are Circumstances that often throw an additional Ornament on a Poem.

The Ancients have left us very imperfect Accounts of their Music. They that would see a Description of their chief Instruments, the Harp and Flute, may consult _Vossius_, and others. But the Manner of their _Composing_ has been scarce touch'd upon by any. For my Part, I cannot but think it was more simple than our modern Way, and consisted of fewer Divisions. And my Reason is, because we meet with very few Encomiums of this Art, or of those that excell'd in it; nay, scarce any of their Names are handed down to Posterity. There's frequent mention, indeed, among the Lyrics, of musical Instruments, as Adjuncts of that Kind of Poetry; but it is scarce credible the Ancients should have said so little of this Art, if it had flourish'd as much in their Time, as it does in ours. As, therefore, we are much inferior to them in Lyric Poetry, so in its Sister Science we far exceed them. We have not their _Horaces_; nor had they those masterly Hands which are now, or lately have been the Admiration of all _Europe_; none to be compar'd with our _British Orpheus_[294], or his worthy Successor[295], that receives, on this Day, Academical Honours.

The proper Subjects for _Odes_, are almost all comprehended in the following Lines of _Horace_:

_Musa dedit fidibus divos, puerosque deorum,
Et pugilem victorem, & equum certamine primum,
Et juvenum curas, & libera vina referre._

Gods, Heroes, Conquerors, _Olympic_ Crowns,
Love's pleasing Cares, and the free Joys of Wine,
Are proper Subjects for the Lyric Song.
_Roscom._

Heroes and Triumphs, we before observ'd to be the principal Subjects; and _Horace_, accordingly, places them first. But, in Course of Time, Love and Entertainments were likewise thought very suitable ones. _Horace_ has left us several of both Sorts, writ with a Sweetness and Elegance that always distinguish him: Nay, he more than once insinuates, that light Subjects come peculiarly within his Province, and that he stands in need of Apology when he presumes to meddle with greater:

_Nos convivia, nos prælia virginum_, &c.

Of Treats we sing, and Love Intrigues.

And after a Recital of _Juno_'s Speech to the Gods, he concludes:

_Non hæc jocosæ conveniunt lyræ;
Quo, Musa, tendis?_

Stay, Muse; this suits but ill the sportive Lyre.

But these Expressions are the Effects of the Poet's Modesty, not to be understood critically; not as spoken of Lyrics in general, but of his own, which with a becoming Decency, he says, are unequal to greater Subjects. For the Ode in its own Nature is _chiefly_ adapted to the Sublime; and nothing can have more of that Quality than some of _Horace_'s. Who, for Instance, can read, without Rapture,

_Motum ex Metello Consule civicum_, &c.

_Jam nunc minaci murmure cornuum
Perstringis aures; jam litui strepunt;
Jam fulgor armorum fugaces
Terret equos, equitumque vultus.

Audire magnos jam videor duces
Non indecoro pulvere sordidos;
Et cuncta terrarum subacta,
Præter atrocem animum Catonis._

Methinks I hear the horrid Din of Arms:
Bright gleaming Armour paints the Field:
The rattling Trumpet pours its dread Alarms:
The Brave lie low in Dust, the Valiant yield:
Revenge and Honour the stern Warrior warms,
And ev'ry Breast, but _Cato_'s, is with Horror fill'd.
_Oldsworth._

Or this:

_Descende Cœlo, & dic, age, tibia,
Regina, longum, Calliope, melos_, &c.

And to mention one more:

_Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem_, &c.

And many others I might produce, from the same Poet, of equal Sublimity.

But in the Verses abovemention'd he has omitted one Subject very suitable to the Ode, and which he himself has often happily attempted; that, I mean, which relates to moral Reflections; which not only affords the greatest Advantage to the Reader, but, for aught I know, the greatest Elegance to the Writer. Many of his Odes are full of it:

_Æquam memento rebus in arduis
Servare mentem_, &c.

Be calm, my Friend, be easy, and sedate,
And bend your Soul to ev'ry State.
_Oldsworth._
[303]
_Cedes coemptis saltibus, & domo,
Villaque flavus quam Tiberis lavit
Cedes, & extructis in altum
Divitiis potietur hæres._

You must your Fields and pleasant Seat forego,
Where _Tiber_'s yellow Waters flow;
You must to _Pluto_'s gloomy Realm repair,
And leave your Heaps of Wealth to a luxurious Heir.
_Oldsworth._

Again:

_Eheu! fugaces, Posthume, Posthume,
Labuntur anni_, &c.

And, to omit innumerable other Instances of this Nature, I will add only his Ode on Avarice:

_Crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops,
Nec sitim pellit, nisi causa morbi
Fugerit venis, & aquosus albo
Corpore languor._

'Tis great this Passion to controul,
For 'tis the Dropsy of the Soul:
Unless you purge each sickly Vein,
'Twill thirst, and drink, and thirst again.
_Oldsw._

These moral Odes are often interspers'd with Encomiums on a Country Life, on moderate Circumstances, and the like; which always afford Matter for entertaining Descriptions:

_Vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum
Splendet in mensa tenui salinum;
Nec leves somnos timor, aut cupido
Sordidus, aufert._

Blest he with little, on whose thrifty Board
That Salt still shines, that call'd his Father Lord;
No vexing Fears his Breast can seize,
No sordid Lust will break his Ease.
_Creech._

Upon the whole, then, we see, that the Ode may be either Sublime, or of the lower Strain; jocose or serious; mournful or exulting; even satirical sometimes, epigrammatical never. It may consist of Wit, but not of that Turn which is the peculiar Characteristic of Epigram. They that have a Mind to know the various Classes of Odes, with their uncouth Titles, into which they are by some Writers distinguish'd; may consult _Vossius_, _Scaliger_, and others. This to me is an Enquiry not more superfluous than disagreeable; since any Thing, we find, may be the Subject of them, if they are but dress'd up in their own peculiar Manner.

From whence the Pleasure arises with which this Kind of Poetry affects us, may be known from what we have before discours'd of the Pleasure of Poetry in general, when we examin'd how it address'd itself to the Passions, the common Principles of human Nature, and human Happiness. I would only now observe, that what we said of Poetry in general, is applicable to the Lyric more particularly: Besides the Advantages of a florid and figurative Style, it commands that Sweetness and Variety of Numbers; that Diversity of Thought; that Elegance of Conciseness; that Energy of Expression; that Quickness of Transition, and Liberty of Excursion; that lively Ardour, and noble Sublimity, which can never fail to raise in the Soul all those agreeable Sensations, we before describ'd.

It is not my Design to give an historical Account of the ancient Writers in this Kind of Poetry: _Vossius_ reckons up several among the _Greeks_ of both Sexes; we have nothing but Fragments of all of them remaining, except the Poems of _Pindar_ and _Anacreon_. The former I have already spoke of; those of the latter are so few, and the peculiar Nature of them so well known, that tho' they deserve much Praise, they need no farther Explication. Among the _Romans_, we have none of any Note, except _Horace_; but he, alone, indeed, is equal to many; and we may venture to affirm, that his Odes exceed any Collection of Poems the learned World has yet been bless'd with.