N° 296. Friday, February 8.

6

Dear SPEC.

H

AVING lately converfed much with the fair Sex on the Subject of your Speculations, (which fince their Appearance in Publick, have been the chief Exercife of the Female loquacious Faculty) I found the fair Ones poffefs'd with a Diffatisfaction at your prefixing Greek Motto's to the Frontifpiece of your late Papers; and, as a Man of Galantry, I thought it a Duty incumbent on me to impart it to you, in Hopes of a Reformation, which is only to be effected by a Restoration of the Latin to the ufual Dignity in your Papers, which of late, the Greek, to the great Difpleasure of your Female Readers, has ufurp'd; for tho' the Latin has the • Recommendation of being as unintelligible to them as the Greek, yet being written of the fame Character with their Mother-Tongue, by the Affiftance of a SpellingBook it's legible; which Quality the Greek wants: And ⚫ fince the Introduction of Opera's into this Nation, the Ladies are fo charmed with Sounds abftracted from their Ideas, that they adore and honour the Sound of Latin as it is old Italian. I am a Solicitor for the fair Sex, and therefore think my felf in that Character more likely to be prevalent in this Requeft, than if I should subscribe my felf by my proper Name.

J. M. I defire you may infert this in one of your Speculations,. to fhew my Zeal for removing the Diffatisfaction of the Fair Sex, and reftoring you to their Favour.

SIR,

Was fome time fince in Company with a young Of ficer, who entertained us with the Conqueft he had made over a Female Neighbour of his ; when a Gentle

• man

man who flood by, as I fuppofe, envying the Captain's good Fortune, asked him what Reafon he had to believe the Lady admired him? Why, fays he, my Lodgings are oppofite to hers, and fhe is continually at her Window either at Work, Reading, taking Snuff, or putting her self in fome toying Pofture on purpose to draw my Eyes that Way. The Confeffion of this vain Soldier made me reflect on fome of my own Actions; for you must know, Sir, I am often at a Window which fronts the Apartments of feveral Gentlemen, who I doubt not have the fame Opinion of me. I muft own I love to look at them all, one for being well dreffed, a fecond for his fine Eye, and one particular one, because he is the leaft Man I ever faw; but there is fomething so easy and pleasant in the Manner of my little Man, that I observe he is a Favourite of all his Acquaintance. I could go on to tell you of many others, that I believe think I have encouraged them from my Window: But pray let me ⚫ have your Opinion of the Ufe of the Window in a beautiful Lady; and how often she may look out at the same Man, without being supposed to have a Mind to jump out to him.

Twice.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

I

Yours,

Aurelia Careless.'

Have for fome Time made Love to a Lady, who received it with all the kind Returns I ought to expect: But without any Provocation, that I know of, The has of late fhunned me with the utmost Abhorrence, infomuch that she went out of Church laft Sunday in 'the midst of Divine Service, upon my coming into the ' fame Pew. Pray, Sir, what must I do in this Business? Your Servant,

Let her alone Ten Days.

Mr. SPECTATOR,

WE

EUPHUES.

York, Jan. 20. 1711-12.

E have in this Town a fort of People who pretend to Wit and write Lampoons: I have lately been the Subject of one of them. The Scribler had

"not Genius enough in Verfe to turn my Age, as indeed I am an old Maid, into Rallery, for affecting a youthier Turn than is confiftent with my Time of Day; and 'therefore he makes the Title to his Madrigal, the Cha*racter of Mrs. Judith Lovebane, born in the Year 1680. • What I defire of you is, That you difallow that a Coxcomb who pretends to write Verfe, fhould put the most malicious Thing he can fay in Prefe. This I humbly * conceive will difable our Country Wits, who indeed take a great deal of Pains to fay any thing in Rhyme, tho' they fay it very ill.

4

I am, SIR,

Your humble Servant,

Mr. SPECTATOR,

Sufanna Lovebane,

WE are feveral of us, Gentlemen and Ladies, whe

board in the fame Houfe, and after Dinner one of our Company (an agreeable Man enough otherwife) ftands up and reads your Paper to us all. We are the ci vileft People in the World to one another, and therefore I am forced to this way of defiring our Reader, when he is doing this Office, not to ftand afore the Fire. This will be a general Good to our Family this cold Weather. He will, I know, take it to be our common Requeft when he comes to thefe Words, Pray, Sir, fit down i which I defire you to infert, and you will particularly oblige

SIR,

Your daily Reader,

Charity Froft.

Am a great Lover of Dancing, but cannot perform fo well as fome others; however, by my Out-ofthe-way Capers, and fome original Grimaces, I don't fail to divert the Company, particularly the Ladies, who laugh immoderately all the Time. Some who pretend to be my Friends, tell me they do it in Derifion, and • would advise me to leave it off, withal that I make my felf ridiculous. I don't know what to do in this Affair,

but I am refolved not to give over upon any Account, • 'till I have the Opinion of the SPECTATOR.

Your bumble Servant,

John Trott.

IF Mr. Trott is not aukward out of Time, he has a Right to Dance let who will Laugh: But if he has no Ear he will interrupt others; and I am of Opinion he fhould fit ftill. Given under my Hand this Fifth of February, 1711-12. The SPECTAT O R.

T

ΝΟ

297.

Saturday, February 9.

-velut fi

Egregio infperfos reprendas corpore nævos..

A

Hor.

FTER what I have faid in my laft Saturday's Pa per, I fhall enter on the Subject of this without further Preface, and remark the feveral Defects which appear in the Fable, the Characters, the Sentiments, and the Language of Milton's Paradife Loft; not doubting but the Reader will pardon me, if I alledge at the fame time whatever may be faid for the Extenuation of such Defects. The first Imperfection which I fhall obferve in the Fable is, that the Event of it is unhappy..

THE Fable of every Poem is, according to Ariftotle's Divifion, either Simple or Implex. It is called Simple when there is no change of Fortune in it ; Implex, when the Fortune of the chief Actor changes from Bad to Good, or from Good to Bad. The Implex Fable is thought the moft perfect; I fuppofe, because it is more proper to ftir up the Paffions of the Reader, and to furprise him with a greater Variety of Accidents.

THE Implex Fable is therefore of two kinds; In the firft the Chief Actor makes his Way through a long Series. of Dangers and Difficulties, till he arrives at Honour and Profperity,

H 5

Profperity, as we fee in the Story of Ulyes. In the fecond, the chief Actor in the Poem falls from fome eminent Pitch of Honour and Profperity, into Mifery and Difgrace. Thus we fee. Adam and Eve finking from a State of Innocence and Happiness, into the most abject Condition of Sin and Sorrow.

THE moft taking Tragedies among the Ancients were built on this laft fort of Implex Fable, particularly the Tragedy of OEdipus, which proceeds upon a Story, if we may believe Ariftotle, the moft proper for Tragedy that could be invented by the Wit of Man. I have taken some Pains in a former Paper to fhew, that this kind of Implex Fable, wherein the Event is unhappy, is more apt to affect an Audience than that of the firft kind; notwithstanding many excellent Pieces among the Ancients, as well as moft of those which have been written of late Years in our own Country, are raised upon contrary Plans. I must however own, that I think this kind of Fable which is the most perfect in Tragedy, is not fo proper for an Heroick Poem.

MILTON feems to have been fenfible of this Imperfection in his Fable, and has therefore endeavoured to Cure it by feveral Expedients; particularly by the Mortification which the great Adverfary of Mankind meets with upon his Return to the Affembly of Infernal Spirits, as it is defcribed in a beautiful Paffage of the Tenth Book; and likewise by the Vifion wherein Adam at the Close of the Poem fees his Off-fpring triumphing over his great Enemy, and himself reftored to a happier Paradife than that from which he fell.

THERE is another Objection against Milton's Fable, which is indeed almoft the fame with the former, tho' placed in a different Light, namely, That the Hero in the Paradife Loft is unfuccessful, and by no means a Match for his Enemies. This gave Occafion to Mr. Dryden's Refles tion, that the Devil was in reality Milton's Hero. I think I have obviated this Objection in my firft Paper. The Paradife Loft is an Epic or a Narrative Poem, and he that looks for anHero in it, fearches forthat which Milton never intended; but if he will needs fix the Name of an Hero upon any Perfon in it, 'tis certainly the Meffiah who is the Hero, both in the Principal Action, and in the chief Episodes.

Paganifm