If there is no Poetry without Verse, there can be none in the English Verfion of the Pfalms of David, the Book of Job, the Song of Solomon, or in any part of the Old Teftament ibid. The beautiful Simplicity of Fenelon's Style has, perhaps, degraded him in the eyes of the injudicious, tho' he is admir'd for it by the best Judges ibid. Some Defects and Beauties pointed out 359 The Scheme of Minerva's affuming the form of Mentor, taken from the History of Tobias ibid. Of Voltaire's Henriade ibid. The Portion of Hiftory on which this Poem is founded ibid. The Characters agreeably diversified and well fupported 363 The Thoughts, Style and Numbers elegant and graceful, and often noble and fublime Some Defects in the Fable ibid. ibid. ibid. The Machinery extravagant The Hero's changing his Religion, absurd His other Works admirable Of Mr. Glover's Leonidas 365 The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ib. The Poem excellently calculated to infpire the Reader with the Love of Liberty, public Virtue, and Patriotism 369 Tho' theFable is taken from an ancient GrecianStory which would have admitted of coeleftial Machinery, the Author has prudently avoided that kind of Ornament ibid. The Heroes of Homer and Virgil leffen'd by their Machinery ibid. No judging which was the greatest Hero, Hector or Achilles, without eftimating the Aid each received from the Deities ibid. 364 ibid. The Abfurdity not removed, by giving those Paffages an allegorical turn, for many of them will not admit of either moral or phyfical Explication 370 The Beauty and Propriety of his Fictions, Incidents, and Episodes ibid. Of the Fable 371 The close of this Poem, as well as that of the Iliad and Eneid, feemingly deficient ibid. The Characters well fuftained, and fome of them finely contrafted ibid. Of the Character of Leonidas 372 His Address to the Spartans, on receiving the Answer from the Oracle ibid. 373 His Reply to the Perfian Ambaffador The affecting manner in which he takes Leave of his Wife and Children ibid. 375 Of the Character of Xerxes The Poet has more exalted his Heroes the Greeks, by making fome of the Perfian Leaders valiant and amiable Characters 375 Of the Character of Teribazus Leffen'd by the manner of his Death 378 Lamentation over the Body of Teribazus, and her Death 380 The Sentiments of the Poem are confiftent with the Characters, always proper, and often noble and fublime 381 The Language is for the most part elegant, expreffive, and agreeably elevated ibid. The Numbers are in fome Places diffonant, and inharmonious Reflections on Shakespeare His Volumes a Repository of true Wit, and of the fublimeft Beauties in Compofition ibid. His Numbers as harmonious as thofe of any modern Poet ibid. His Diction fo elegant and expreffive, that he seems to have been confidered as a Standard, and to have fixed the volatile Fluctuations of a living Language, to which the frequent Representation of his Plays has not a little contributed ibid. ibid. 377 ibid. ibid. ibid. The Power he has over the Mind is not wholly owing to the Force of his Wit and Fancy; but to his having in greater Proportion than other Men that Power of Feeling or Senfibility refulting from Nature and accurate Obfervation, which we call good Tafte ibid. As he confulted Nature more than Books, his Thoughts are, for the most part, new and noble, whereas other Dramatic Poets of his Time, by having ancient Authors too much in View, loft the Spirit of Originality 382 An Apology for the Defects in Shakespeare ibid. The Character of a Book not to be estimated by the number of its Defects, but of its Beauties ibid. Reading compared to Converfation----He who frequents Company to obferve only abfurd and vicious Characters will obtain little Benefit; but he who obferves and imitates the Polite, may become a Fine Gentleman ibid. ERRATA TO VOL. I. Page 41, Line 7. dele We come now to. P. 49, 1. 12. for that read which. P. 53, 1. 39. for Poctry r. Poetry. P. 84, in the Note, for Tibia r. Tibi. P. 85, l. 15. for where r. were, P. 168, l. 10. dele in. P. 174, 1. 12. for affimulated read affembled. P. 175, 1. 13. for ever r. over. Ibid. Line 37, for white Afb, read wild Afb. P. 189, l. 36. for Hair read Hare. P. 205, 1. 10. for Paife read Praife. P. 214, l. 19. dele vinner. P. 216, l. 21. for male read meal. P. line the laft, for barborous read barbarous. 250, ERRATA TO VOL. II. Page 19, Line 2. for lays read lies. P. 96, 1. 2, of the Note, for Operation read Oppreffion. P. 204, 1. 16. for Wreck read wreak. P. 341, l. 14. for Obkorance read Abhorrence. INTRODUCTION. F the sciences were to be estimated by their antithe palm from all others, fince it is, we may fuppofe, nearly as old as the Creation, and had its being almost with the first breath of mankind. When Adam came from the hands of his all-bountiful Creator, and found himself in the plains of Paradise, amidst an infinite number of creatures, fo fearfully and wonderfully made*; when he faw every herb, plant, and flower rife up for his ufe and pleasure, and every creature fubmit to his will; when he heard the morning's dawn ushered in with the orifons of birds, and the evenings warbled down with notes of thanks and gratitude; when all nature exulted in praife of the omnipotent Creator; when the morning ftars fang together, and all the fons of God fhouted for joy t, could man, thus highly favoured of heaven, withold his tribute?—No, when all things that breathe From th' earth's great altar fend up filent prafe To the Creator, and his noftrils fill With grateful fmell: forth came the human pair, * Pfalms, Job xxxviii. 7. B And join'd their vocal worship to the Choir --both flood Poetry in its infant state was the language of devotion and love. It was the voice and expreffion of the heart of man when ravished and transported with a view of the numberlefs bleflings that perpetually flowed from God the fountain of all goodness. -all things fmil'd With Fragrance, and with Foy their hearts o'erflow'd. † Enraptured thus with the love of God, and filled with an awful idea of his power, glory, and goodnefs; the foul, incapable of finding words in common language fuitable to its lofty conceptions, and difdaining every thing low and vulgar, was obliged to invent a language intirely new. Tropes and figures were called in to exprefs its fentiments, and the diction was dignified and embellished with metaphors, beautiful defcriptions, lively images, fimilies, and whatever else could help to exprefs, with force and grandeur, its paffion and furprise difdaining common thoughts and trivial expreffions, it explores all Nature and aspires at all that is fublime and beautiful, in order to approach perfection and beatitude. Nor was this fufficient. The mind diffatisfied with culling only the most noble thoughts, arrayed in forcible and luxuriant terms, and perceiving the tweetness which arose from the melody of birds, called in mufic to its aid; when thefe illuftrious thoughts, dignify'd and diefs'd with pomp and fplendor, were - Milton's Paradife Loft. + Ibid. fo placed as to produce harmony: the long and fhort, the smooth and rough fyllables were varioufly combined to recommend the fenfe by the found, and elevation and cadence employed to make the whole more mufically expreffive. Hence poetry became the parent of mufic, and indeed of dancing; for the method of measuring the time of their verfes, per Arfin et Thefin, and of beating the bars or divifions of mufic, gave rife, we may fuppofe, to this art, and taught the feet alfo to exprefs the transports of the foul. To the truth of thefe reflections, which are drawn from nature, every one will affent, who confiders how he is affected by poetry and mufic; for no man can resist the natural impulse he will have to dance, or agitate the body at certain combinations of words and of founds, unless he be unhappily poffeffed of one of those gloomy minds described by Shakespeare f. And this will in fome measure account, not only for the great antiquity of dancing, but for its application to religious ceremonies even in the firft ages of the world. Poetry, Mufic, and Dancing, were used by the Ifraelites of old in their worship, and are thus employ'd by many of the eastern nations, and by the Indians of Ame rica to this day. What we have faid of the origin of poetry will account for the neceffity there is for that enthusiasm, that fertility of invention, thofe fallies of imagination, lofty ideas, noble fentiments, bold and figurative expreffions, harmony of numbers, and indeed that *Ducunt Choreas et Carmina dicunt. The man that hath no mufic in himself, VIRG. SHAKESPEARE's Merchant of Venice |
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