Skip to main content

Full text of "Philosophical and critical observations on the nature, characters, and various species of composition"

See other formats 


EX 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FREDERIC  THOMAS  BLANCHAUD 
ENDOWMENT  FUND 


FR1 


PHILOSOPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL 

OBSERVATIONS 

O  N    T  H  E 

NATURE,   CHARACTERS, 

AND 

VARIOUS    SPECIES 

OF 

COMPOSITION, 

By    JOHN    O  G  I  L  V  I  E,    D.  D. 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 
VOL.    II. 

H  <au<;  cm  aXXty;  ffvtrr>  roSs'  TO  CAN,  £t  (tr,  PYQMI2  TW  KM 
TAHEI  ^tfxsxoo^oiTo.  Kat  ra  v^'  ijjixw»  xaTaax£vaf)/Lt«>a  ofyaiy, 
METPIi  nANTA  yjy>c»T«i.  E»  &  HANTA  aXA*,  -zroXXw  ye 
O  AOrOS,  «TE  xa»  DEPIEKTIKOi  ADANTflN  «N. 

AONTIN.  AnosnAr. 

Of  all  the  arts  in  which  mankind  excel, 
Nature's  chief  mafter-piece  is  WRITING  WELL. 

BUCKINGHAM. 


LONDON, 

P/inted  for  G.  ROBINSON,  in  Paternofter-Row. 

MDCCLXX1V. 


•"*». 


P£ 


c  o  N  TE  N  T  s. 


BOOK,      II. 

Of  Compofition  as  diftinguiflied  by  par-, 
ticular  Characters  and  Species. 

SECTION    I. 

Of  the  ftyle  of  Compofition   in  genera/,  its 
diftinguijhing  properties  and  defetfs.  p.  i 

SECTION    II. 
Ofjimpk  Compofition*  37 

SECTION    III. 
Of ' perfpicuous  Compojition.  83 

SECTION    IV. 

Of  elegant  Compofition.  122 

SECTION    V. 
Offublime  Compofition*  158 

SECTION    VI. 

Of  nervous  Gompofaion.  199 

SECTION    VII. 

Of  cor  reft  Compojition . 


ERRATA. 

Page  24.  laft  line  of  the  note,  after  Vid.  addlAv.  Hift.  pafiim.  P. 
26.  1.  3.  after  fable  o^</  when.  P.  36.  laft  line,  add  up  to  be  peiufed  as 
a  talk.  P.  113.  1.  22.  Jelemtd.  P.  130.  \.z.for  thruftt  read  throws. 
P.  167.  1.  9.  for  criteria  read  criterion.  P.  171.  J.  ai.  afttr  when  add 
an.  P.  186.  1.  II.  for  particularly  read  particularity.  P.  202.  1.  M.  for 
\s  read  3.\c.  P.  223  1.  22.  for  illtiftratiofls  read  illuftration.  P.  238. 
1.  12.  far  feparately  read  feldom.  P.  246.  1.  6.  of  the  note,  far  allows 
read  allowed.  P.  261.  1.  iQ-for  cafe*  rfjJ  caufes.  P.  280.  I.  5.  for  cri- 
teria read  character.  P.  286.  1.  I.  for  tells  re«d  tell.  P.  331.  1.  7.  for 
abjurations  rtad  adjurations. 


PHILOSOPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL 

OBSERVATIONS 


O  N 


COMPOSITION. 


BOOK       II. 

Of  Competition  as  diftinguifted  by  particular 
Characters  and  Species. 

SECTION    I. 

Of  the  Jlyle   of  Compojition   in  general,  its 
dijlinguijhing  properties  and  defeffs. 

FR.  O  M  the  obfervations  we  have  made 
in  a  former  part  of  this  work  on 
Compofition,  as  indicating  the  intellectual 
character,  and  as  giving  exercife  to   the 
powers  by  which  man  is  diftinguiihed  in 
all    their   variety   of   combination ;    from 
thefe  we  are  naturally  led  to  confider  the 
external  marks  or  fignatures  by  which  we 
VOL.  II.  B  eftimate 


2  Philofophical  and  Critical 

eftimate  in  the  various  branches  of  the  art 
(at  lead  in  a  great  meafure)  the  excellence 
or  defedl  of  the  artift's  execution.  This 
prefents  to  us  a  view  of  this  fubjecl:  more 
pleafmg  perhaps  than  we  have  hitherto 
taken ;  and  fuggefls  at  the  fame  time  the 
anfwer  to  an  important  enquiry; — by 
what  method  we  may  diftinguilh  genuine 
from  apparent  beauty  in  the  performances 
that  fall  under  our  examination ;  that 
faults  by  being  perceived  may  be  avoided ; 
and  genuine,  not  feeming  excellence,  may 
become  the  object  of  imitation. 

It  ought  to  be  obferved  in  the  prefent, 
as  in  many  other  inftances,  that  the  dif- 
ficulty of  making  this  diftinction  is  en- 
creafed  more  perhaps  by  a  habit  of  trufting 
to  the  judgment  of  thofe  whom  we  have 
been  accuftcmed  to  hold  in  eftimation, 
than  from  any  inability  in  a  great  number 
of  readers  to  think  juftly  for  themfelves 
on  this  fubjedt.  It  happens  frequently 
that  thofe  who  are  diffident  of  their  own 
feutiments  are  milled  in  their  judgment 
of  things  by  confiding  implicitly  in  the 
decifion  of  others,  who,  with  inferior  merit 

perhaps 


Observations  on  Compofition*        3 

perhaps  to  themfelves,  have  pretenfions 
incomparably  greater;  and  impofed  upon 
by  an  illufion  which  reafon  would  have 
diflipated,  permit  their  opinions  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  falfe  prepofleffions,  in  matters 
of  indifpenfable  importance. 

Among  the  almoft  innumerable  expe- 
dients by  which  the  judgment  of  mankind 
may  be  marked  from  its  native  bias,  to 
form  falfe  as  well  as  inadequate  eftimates, 
one  of  the  moil  powerful  is  that  prepof- 
feffion  which  the  mind  naturally  and  juftly 
entertains  in  favour  of  a  work  diflin- 
guifhed  by  judicious  fentiments,  in  what- 
ever drefs  thefe  may  be  exhibited  to  ob- 
fervation.  In  fuch  cafes  the  attainment 
of  an  end  of  primary  confequence  makes 
us  overlook  a  circumftance  that  is  deemed 
to  be  comparatively  infignificant ;  and 
even  a  reader,  whofe  good  fenfe  might  (if 
unbiafled  in  its  decifion)  mow  him  the 
proper  value  of  both  objects,  is  taught  to 
under-rate  the  one,  becaufe  perhaps  he 
very  properly  thinks  that  too  high  an  efti- 
mation  cannot  be  formed  of  the  other. 
R  2  This 


4  P hilofophical  and  Critical 

This  remark  (we  may  obferve  by  the  bye) 
is  one  of  thofe  which  difcover  the  imper- 
fection of  the  human  mind  in  a  very  ilrik- 
ing  point  of  view,  and  it  extends  as  much 
to  the  various  tranfadions .  of  life,  as  to 
matters  that  may  be  deemed  of  pure  fpe- 
culation.  Thus  a  beautiful  and  a  deformed 
figure,  prefented  at  the  fame  time  before 
the  eye,  will  imprefs  ideas  upon  the  found- 
eft  underilanding,  which  an  examination 
of  each  of  thefe  feparately  will  enable  it 
afterwards  to  correct.  The  faults  of  the 
former  will  be  found  to  have  efcaped  ob- 
fervation  only  as  obliterated  by  the  more 
glaring  deformities  of  the  latter;  as  on 
the  contrary,  beauties  will  be  found  in  this 
laft  when  contemplated  apart,  which  the 
luftre  of  its  companion  has  fcreened  effec- 
tually from  fuperficial  inveftigation.  Re- 
flection will  convince  us  that  we  form 
eftimates  equally  inadequate  almoft  always 
when  objects  cf  contrary  natures  are  fet 
in  immediate  oppofition.  The  advantages 
arifmg  from  any  acquifition  are  never  feen 
in  fo  ftriking  a  light,  as  when  contrafted 

with 


Obferv  3t  ions  on  Compqfition.         5 

with  the  lofs  or  the  want  of  this  benefit. 
We  are  ready  in  iuch  a  cafe  to  include 
every  enjoyment  in  the  poflefTion  of  the 
one,  and  every  mifery  in  the  approach  of 
the  other ;  contrary  to  that  dictate  of  fober 
reafon  which  would  foon  convince  us  that 
the  lofs  of  fome  acquirements  is  as  necef- 
lary  at  one  time  to  prevent  fatiety,  as  the 
pofieffion  of  thefe  at  another  is  to  confti- 
tiite  happinefs. — But  let  us  return  from 
this  little  digreflion. 

To  ob (Inactions  arifmg  from  the  motives 
here  enumerated,  we  may  moft  probably 
afcribe  the  little  improvement  which  the 
ftile  of  philofophical  Compofition  received 
for  fome  ages  after  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  Thofe  who  profefTed  philofophy 
in  thefe  ages  collected  the  maxims  without 
imbibing  the  fpirit  of  the  ancients ;  and 
having  obtained  the  reputation  of  thinking 
judicioufly  in  confequence  of  a  few  meta- 
phyfical  diftindtions,  the  obfcurity  of  an 
embarraffed  and  inelegant  diction,  like  the 
hieroglyphical  learning  of  ./Egypt,  was 
deemed  a  proper  veil  to  fcreen  their  tenets 
B  3  from 


6  Phllofophlcal  and  Critical 

from  the  cognifance  of  the  vulgar  *.  Their 
readers,  impofed  upon  by  the  pretenfions 
of  their  teachers  to  fuperior  knowledge 
and  underftanding,  received  their  inftruc- 
tions  as  oracles  emitted  by  wifdpm ;  which, 
conveyed  in  any  form  of  words  whatever, 
were  either  admitted  as  truths  irrefragably 
certain ;  or  admired,  when  not  underftood, 
as  indications  of  profound  fagacity.  In 
this  manner  the  jargon  of  the  ichools  not 
only  pafled  upon  the  lefs  intelligent  for- 
found  philofophy,  but  even  the  errors  of 
•certain  writers  came  to  be  held  in  vene- 
ration ;  and  obfcurity  of  expreflion,  the 
capital  fault  of  the  ftyle  of  Compofition, 
to  be  regarded  as  the  myfterious  vehicle 
of  truths  derived  from  the  deepeft  dif- 
quifition  f. 

While 

*  Among  thefe  the  difciplcs  of  a  philofopher  were 
bound  to  take  an  oath.  E«  inroxpu^oi?  raura  t"Xjnvt 
xat  TOJ?  aTfcj&UTOK  xa*  a^vr.rot;  JIATI  [A,ITOL$I$O-J»I. 

Seld,  de  Diis  Syr. 

t  The  bad  confequences  that  arofe  from  the  ab- 
furd,  trifling,  and  fcandalous  do&rines  of  the  fchool- 
men  in  the  I2th,  13th,  I4th,  and  I5th  centuries,  are 
now  fo  well  known  that  it  would  be  improper  here  to 

trace 


Obf equations  on  Compcfition.         j 

While  it  fared  thus  with  the  nobleft  of 
fciences,  the  arts,  whofe  improvement  con- 
tributes 


trace  thefe  at  any  length.  We  (hall  therefore  only 
obferve,  as  a  remark  connected  with  the  prefent  fub- 
je£l,  that  the  barbarous  language  in  \vhich  thefe  weie 
doathed  contributed  as  much  as  any  other  circumftance 
to  prevent  genuine  philofophy  from  being  at  the  fame 
time  fooner  and  more  univerfally  propagated.  Inftead 
of  claflical  purity  and  elegance,  I-Lilc',  Aquinas,  Bo- 
naventure,  Achillini,  Albertus  Magnus,  and  many 
others  of  the  fame  clafs,  ftudied  only  a  language 
fui.ed  to  their  own  barbarous  and  unintelligible  dif- 
tinclions.  One  of  thefe  in  particular  (Achillini)  car- 
ried to  fo  great  a  length  this  talent  of  perplexing  every 
fubjedt  by  diftin£tions,  that  his  acutcnefs  was  com- 
pared to  that  of  the  devil.  "  Fu  acutiffimo  argumen- 
tutore  (fays  an  Italian  hiftoi  ian,  of  the  writers  of  Bo- 
logna) onde  ne  circoli  dove  argumentava  e  non  era 
conofciuto,  pafso  in  proverbio  qu'ell  aut  Dkibolus,  aut 
Achillinus."  Orlan.  Notiz.  degli  bcritt.  Bologn  Per- 
haps one  reafbn  which  contributed  principally  to,  keep 
mankind  for  fo  many  ages  in  ignorance  of  every  thing 
but  this  jargon,  which  reafon  has  now  fo  totally  ex- 
ploded, was  the  ftate  of  modern  languages  then  in 
their  infancy,  and  unfit  (from  the  multifarious  dialecls 
then  blended  together,  but  having  formed  no  perma- 
nent ftandard)  to  convey  the  principles  of  any  art  or 
fcience  whatever.  Metaphyfical  fubtlcties,  therefore, 
fcreened  from  cenfure  by  the  facred  name  of  'Arijlo- 
telian  philofophy^  were  cloathetl  in  a  language  refined  by 
the  efforts  of  a  Tully  and  a  Virgil ;  but  thefe  having 
been  exploded  by  the  Quodlibetarians,  Sententiarians, 
B  4  Nominate, 


8  Phikfophlcal  and  Critical 

tributes  to  that  of  philofophy,  with  which 
thefe  maintain  a  conftant  and  indiffoluble 

union, 


Nominate,  and  Scotifls*,  (thefe  Pandals  of  fcienct  who 
made  havock  of  the  Roman  learning  as  much  «s  their 
predeceflbrs  had  done  of  its  empire)  the  admiration  of 
the  vulgar  was  kept  up  not  only  by  the  apprehended 
importance  of  certain  tenets,  but  by  the  very  circum- 
flance  perhaps  of  their  being  unintelligible;  and  as 
the  Roman  language  was  ftudied  only  for  the  fake  of 
a  few  hackneyed  phrafes,  known  likewife  to  a  very 
fmall  number,  no  man  had  either  inclination  or  ability 
to  expofe  the  abfurdity  of  their  fyftems.     The  human 
mind  however  muft  have  emerged  in  the  courfe  of 
fo  many  ages  from  this  ftate  of  Gothic  ignorance,  had 
not  men's  eyes  been  artfully  dazzled  by  the  fplendor 
of  an  illuftrious  name,  and  one  of  the  greateft  bene- 
factors of  mankind  rendered,  by  a  ftrange  perverfion, 
the  patron  of  abfurdity  and  nonfenfe.     It  muft,  no 
doubt,  be  acknowledged,  that  fome  very  abftrufe  dif- 
tinclions  in  the  logic  and  phyfics  of  Ariftotle  perhaps 
originally  led  the  way  to  thofe  verbal  controverfies, 
and  unintelligible  senigmas,  which  were  fanttioned  by 
his  authority.     But  nothing  ferves  to  difcover  more 
clearly  the  danger  arifing  from  an  indulgence  of  this 
metaphyfical  fubtlety  than  the  confequences  of  which 
it  became  productive.     The  dreams  which  every  dif- 
tempered  zealot  conceived  with   regard  to  election, 
free  will,  predeflination,   &c.    were  retailed  as  the 

•  Of  thefe  parties  fome  took  their  name  from  perfortmnces  of 
Thomas  Aquinas,  entitled,  Qnodlibetical  Propofilions,  Commentaries 
on  the  Sentences  of  Ariftutle,  &c.  or  from  his  name  Thorais,  or  from 
that  of  Duns  Scotus,  the  founder  of  another  ttibe* 

tenets 


Obfervations  on  Compojttion.         9 

union,  were  equally  neglected ;  and  genius, 
like  a  tree  capable  of  bearing  the  richeft 
productions,  but  rifing  uncultivated  in  a 
wildernefs,  difplayed  extravagant  though 
luxuriant  fhoots,  inftead  of  that  mature  and 
beautiful  affemblage  which  is  the  off- 
fpring  of  culture,  induftry,  and  attention  *. 

During 

tenets  of  this  great  phiJofopher  *  ;  and  the  play  of 
words  introduced  into  philofophy,  was  fcreened  from 
cenfure  under  the  name  of  criteria,  in  imitation  of  the 
fame  model  by  whole  aid  the  boundaries  of  truth  and 
falihood  may  be  always  difcriminated.  <«  Di  cio  ce 
doveva  in  gran  parteobligazione  ad  Ariftotele,  il  quali 
fe  non  fi  foffb  adoperato  in  dijlinguer  operaiamente  i  ge- 
neri  delli  rngioni,  noi  mancavamo  d't  mo/ti  articoli  di 
Fede."  Palavicin.  Thus  Compofition  in  every  fenfc 
of  the  word,  was  obliterated  dining  the  reign  of  thtfe 
profound  metaphyficians  ;  and  perfpicuity  of  expref- 
fion  once  loft,  a  man's  learning  and  fagacity  came  to 
be  eflimated  by  aflertions  which  could  not  be  refuted 
by  the  human  underftanding,  becaufe  they  exceeded 
its  comprehenfion. 

*  That  imagination  which  is  the  principal  charac- 
teriftic   of  genius,   differs   in   this  important  reipecl; 

*  See  the  works  of  Thomas  Anglus,  who  wrote  io  the  i^h  centurv. 
Others   difcovered    in  the  works   of  A'iftotle,   the    myftcries  of  the 
trini'y  and  incarnation.     At  thf. fame  time  thefe  men  were  themfclv(.s 
<b  ignorant  of  the  language  in  which  Ariftotle  wrote,  '.hit  one  of  rhem 
in   a   commentary  on   his  works,   mil'alting   thr  wotrf   an"  it   for  <x^X»;, 
a  mufical  inftrument,   adduced  thirteen  proportions   to  prove  that  the 
foul  cf  man  is  a  pipe, 

from 


io         Philojbphical  and  Critical 

During  the  declenfion  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire, the  arts  which  had  fiouriihed  in  the 
time  of  its  maturity,  decayed  gradually  as 

its 

from  the  faculty  of  underftanding  with  regard  to  the 
objects  about  which  it  is  employed,  that  though  the 
latter  may,  as  we  have  fcen,  be  perverted  in  its  ufe  to 
fupport  trifling  or  even  abfurd  proportions,  and  to 
render  fa!fhood  plaufible  by  fubtlety  of  difiinftion  ; 
vet  the  genuine  offspring  of  the  former  however  un- 
cultivated are  always  beautiful,  and  though  in  a  favage 
or  barbarous  age,  its  range  may  be  contracted  within 
a  narrower  compafs,  or  its  procedure  marked  by  ex- 
centricity  and  wildnefs,  yet  ft  ill  there  is  fomething 
even  in  this  irregulaiity  which  the  mind  contemplates 
with  delight,  and  approves  by  a  natural  and  irrcfiftible 
impulfe.  Of  the  truth  of  this  obfervation  we  have  a 
ftriking  evidence  prefented  to  us  by  the  prefent  fubjecl, 
as  at  the  very  time  when  philofophy  was  reduced  by 
the  fchoolmen  to  the  defpicable  fituation  above-men- 
tioned, poetry  cultivated  by  a  great  and  original  ge- 
nius, produced  fruit  which  every  fucceeding  age  has 
beheld  with  admiration.  The  learned  reader  will 
perceive  immediately,  that  the  perfon  here  referred  to 
is  the  great  Italian  poet  Dante^  who  fiourifhed  about 
the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century ; and  was  contemporary 
with  the  writers  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note. 
.Stimulated  at  the  fame  time  by  the  propenfity  of  his 
genius,  and  by  the  mod  implacable  refentment  of  his 
country's  ingratitude,  he  produced  a  poem  in  that  age 
of  fuperftition  full  of  the  keeneft  and  moft  pointed  in- 
veclive ;  in  which,  though  deficient  in  difpofition  and 

in 


Observations  on  Compofition.         \  i 

its  dominion  became  contra£led,  and  its 
inhabitants,  inflead  of  cultivating  thefe, 

which 

in  claflical  purity  of  language*,  he  lavifhed  the  beau- 
ties of  poetry  in  fuch  a  manner  on  his  fubjeft,  that, 
even  two  centuries  after  his  death,  Francis  I.  felt  the 
(ling  of  that  fatire  fo  forcibly  which  was  levelled  at 
one  of  his  predeceflbrs  f>  that  unable  to  bear  the  far- 
eaiin,  he  commanded  it  to  be  ftruck  out  from  the  edi- 
tion of  his  works  then  extant  in  France. — At  a  time 
when  the  world  was  ftill  buried  in  ignorance,  the 
celebrated  Petrarch  fucceeded  to  this  original  ;  and 
with  a  genius  lefs  daring  and  animated,  but  gentler 
and  more  amiable  than  that  of  the  former,  contributed 
to  prevent  a  tafle  for  letters  from  being  wholly  extir- 
pated, and  to  carry  on  the  work  of  reformation. 
Thefe  and  fome  other  writers  formed  a  kind  of  barrier 
againft  the  encroachments  of  the  fchoolmen  ;  and  by 
polifhing  gradually  the  language  of  their  country, 
opened  a  way  to  that  clear  and  comprehenfive  philo- 
fophy  which  fucceeded  to  metaphyfical  impoflure. 
The  laft  mentioned  poet  in  particular,  wrote  many 
pieces  in  the  language  of  ancient  Rome,  which  (as  he 
was  publicly  honoured  with  the  laurel)  had  their 
weight  in  rendering  it  more  univerfally  ftudied.  Claf- 
fical  elegance  in  this  manner  came  gradually  to  be 
admired  and  imitated  ;  and  thofe  unintelligible  quib- 
bles which  had  been  deemed  the  efforts  of  profound 
fagacity,  gave  way  to  refearches  in  which  human  na- 

*  This  deficiency  can  only  be  imputed  to  the  age  in  which  be 
wrote.  See  Lillius  Gerald.  Hift.  Poet. 

t  Charles  of  V«loi=,  whofe  predeceflbr  Hugh  C^per,  he  ftigmatizeth 
as  the  fon  of  a  butcher. 

ture 


i  2          Philofophical  and  Critical 

which  are  the  offspring  of  tranquillity  and 
opulence,  were  employed  in  repelling  the 
afTaults  of  northern  barbarians,  who,  after 
many  attempts,  at  laft  accomplimed  their 
deflruclion  *,  In  thefe  ages  the  fpijrit  of  a 
» — , 

ture  was  developed,  and  the  heart  ofman>  not  the  quod- 
libeticalpropofitions,  became  the  fubjeft  of  philo- 
fophical  enquiry.  Thefe  poets  however  (and  even 
Ariofto  himfelf  who  lived  in  an  age  fomewhat  more 
enlightened)  though  we  may  contemplate  them  as 
lights  hung  out  to  illuminate  fome  places  amidP.  the 
general  darknefs  that  overfpread  other  regions  ;  yet 
while  they  reformed  mankind,  participated  themfelves 
of  the  faults  afcribed  fo  juftly  to  the  ages  in  which  they 
lived.  In  works  of  length  a  judicious  reader  will  ob- 
ferve  a  ftriking  defect  of  correct  difpofmon  univerfally 
taking  place,  which  is  one  of  the  furefl  marks  either 
of  a  mind  inadequate  to  its  fubjecr.,  or  of  licentious 
freedom  derived  from  the  manners  of  an  uncultivated 
and  barbarous  age.  But  with  all  thefe  disadvantages 
the  language  in  which  thefe  authors  wrote  was  gra- 
dually polifhed  by  their  efforts  ;  and  as  foon  as  men 
were  led  to  examine  the  ftandards  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man geniup,  which  had  fallen  fo  long  into  difufe,  the 
faults  of  Compofition  in  thefe  days  of  ignorance  were 
detected  and  rectified,  at  the  fame  time  that  a  more 
improved  age  expelled  their  models  of  architecture, 
ftatuary,  and  painting. 

*  See  the  deplorable  fhte  of  the  empire  at  this  time 
defcribed  by  Ammianus  Marcellinus,  and  St.  Jerom, 
who  prophetically  foretell  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
world. 

nation 


Qbfirvations  on  Compofition.         13 

nation  was  deprefled  while  its  acquifitions 
were  gradually  fubverted;  and  attention 
diverted  from  the  cultivation  of  the  beau- 
tiful, into  the  channel  of  the  neceflary  and 
more  immediately  important,  was  wholly 
engrofled  by  external  tranfadtions,  or  by 
fuperftitious  terrors  arifing  ultimately  from 
difappointment. 

.It  is  a  remark  which  will  be  found  uni- 
verfally  characteriftical  of  mankind,  that 
when  the  mind  is  damped  and  crufhed  as 
it  were,  by  a  feries  of  unexpected  and  dif- 
piriting  incidents,  it  is  apt  to  follow  the 
lead  of  fuperilition,  and  to  trace  confe- 
quences  to  caufes  wholly  fictitious  and  im- 
aginary when  it  cannot  dsvelope  their  real 
original.  In  Rome  when  in  all  its  glory 
with  regard  to  grandeur  and  conqueft,  a 
didatcr  was  formally  eleded  to  expel  the 
peftilenoe  by  driving  a  nail  into  the  wall 
of  a  temple  * ;  and  one  of  the  greateft  men 
whom  Athens  ever  produced,  was  facri- 
ficed  to  the  cabal  of  a  few  factious  citizens 

*  Examples  of  this  need  not  be  adduced.  They  oc- 
cur often  in  the  hiftory  of  the  Commonwealth  while 
in  us  infancy. 

artfully 


14  Philofophical  and  Critical 

artfully  working  on  the  fuperftition  of  the 
populace  *.  Thefe,  however,  as  both  na- 
tions were  ftill  in  their  maturity,  were 
only  fhort  eruptions  of  a  flame  which  was 
fmothered  though  not  extinguifhed  by  the 
fudden  extinction  of  the  caufes  which  gave 
rife  to  it.  But  during  the  decay  of  the 
immenfe  empire  of  Rome  as  thefe  caufes 
operated  more  fteadily  and  univerfally, 
their  confequences  are  fet  in  a  very  ftrong 
light,  and  lie  immediately  open  to  dif- 
paffionate  enquiry.  The  minds  of  men 
were  at  this  time  occupied  in  every  pro- 
vince of  the  empire  by  attending  either  to 
the  ravages  of  the  barbarous  nations  attack- 
ing it  on  all  fides,  or  to  the  more  alarming 
internal  duTenfions  which  divided  the 
chriftian  church,  and  gave  full  fcope  to  the 
fuggeftions  of  fuperftition,  as  the  growth 
of  heterodox  opinions,  and  not  the  general 
corruption  of  manners  was  deemed  to  be 

*  The  incident  here  referred  to,  relates,  as  the 
learned  reader  will  perceive,  to  Alcibiades,  who  was 
driven  from  his  country  to  gratify  the  moft  abfurd  fu- 
pei  lliticn,  and  with  whom  fell  the  glory  and  dominion 
oi  Athens. 

the 


Obfervations  r>n  Compofitton.         15 

the  caufe  of  every  repeated  difafter  *. 
Each  feet  had  here  a  field  to  retort  the 
accufation  from  one  to  another ;  and  while 
men's  hearts  were  heated  with  rancour  and 
animofity,  or  their  dread  excited  by  the 
imminent  danger  of  lofmg  their  pofleffions, 
it  is  furely  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  their 
fentiments  became  perplexed,  their  learn- 
ing contracted,  and  their  language  in- 
elegant. 

In  this  feries  of  events  it  is  that  we  are 
to  fearch  for  the  true  caufe  of  the  decline 
of  the  finer  arts,  and  of  the  darknefs  in 
which  for  many  ages  thele  continued  to 
be  inveloped.  Hiftory  affords  us  many 

*  The  author  here  means  only  to  take  notice  of 
thofe  fchifms  in  the  Chiiftian  church  which  from 
their  ab/urdity  and  in  confidence  could  not  produce 
bad  confequences  of  any  kind,  though  the  zeal  of  fomc 
good  men  who  employed  their  pens  to  expofe  prin- 
ciples which  would  have  been  forgot  in  a  few  years 
had  no  notice  been  taken  of  them,  contributed  at  the 
lame  time  to  fliarpen .  the  ipirits  of  men  againft  each 
other,  and  to  render  the  comagion  more  univerfal. 
Thus  it  happened,  that  what  would  have  been  only 
contemptible  became  noxious;  and  men  were  raifed 
into  ftgmlicance  by  mif«pplieatio:i  of  the  means  ap- 
plied to  render  tlum  the  objects  of  ridicule  or  de-' 
teitdtion. 

examples 


1 6  Philosophical  and  Critical 

examples  of  barbarous  nations  who,  after 
having  fubdued  people  more  improved  than 
themfelves,  have  in  the  courfe  of  a  few 
ages  adopted  the  laws,  the  manners,  and 
the  learning  of  the  conquered.  Here 
however  the  cafe  was  altogether  different. 
The  fubdued  nations  became  affimilated 
(at  leafl  in  a  great  meafure)  to  their  bar- 
barous conquerors.  Whence  arifeth  this 
ftriking  difference  ? — From  this  caufe  un- 
doubtedly, that  every  objecT:  worthy  of 
imitation  (with  regard  to  the  circumftances 
above-mentioned)  had  been  cancelled  a- 
mong  the  conquered  nations  before  they 
fubmitted  to  a  foreign  yoke.  The  wretched 
remains  of  their  former  excellence  were 
ftill  indeed  to  be  met  with : — but  thefe,  in- 
fufficient  to  improve  a  people  altogether 
uncultivated,  were  mixed  with  abfurd  and 
extravagant  hypothefes ;  by  which  means 
a  group  of  diflimilar,  often  difcordant  ob- 
jects was  prefented  to  the  mind,  which  it 
required  the  efforts  of  mankind  not  in  one 
but  in  many  ages  to  expel  as  the  offspring 
of  error,  and  to  fubftitute  proportion  and 
fymmetry  in  its  room.  Superilition  in 

thefe 


Qbf creations  on  Compojition.        17 

thefe  times,  untamed  by  the  dictates  of 
temperate  philofophy,  fuggefted  imaginary 
evils  which  pafled  immediately  for  reali- 
ties; and  thefe  dreams  inculcated  in  lan- 
guage fwelling  into  fuftian,  chiming  into 
quibble,  loaded  with  ornament,  or  pointed 
with  unmeaning  antithefis,  made  an  im- 
preffion  upon  minds  unacquainted  with 
any  fuperior  ftyle  of  eloquence,  adequate 
in  every  refpect  to  the  purpofes  which  it 
was  calculated  to  produce. 

There  is,  it  will  be  obferved,  this  inva- 
riable affinity  betwixt  fentiment  and  the 
language  in  which  it  is  conveyed,  that 
though  the  diction  may  be  fmooth  and 
mellifluous  when  the  thoughts  are  wholly 
fuperficial,  yet  when  thefe  laft  are  juft  and 
pertinent,  forced  ornaments  and  little  con- 
ceits are  feldom  or  never  to  be  met  with 
in  the  other.  Sentiments  judicioufly  ap- 
plied, and  diftincftly  comprehended,  fup- 
port  themfelves  by  their  own  intrinfic 
worth,  and  require  only  to  be  placed  be- 
fore the  mind  in  flmple,  clear,  and  appro- 
priated words.  The  fame  remark  may 
be  applied  to  illuftrations.  Thefe  (which 

VOL.  II.  C  in 


1 8         PhUofofhical  and  Critical 

in  all  works  of  length  are  indifpenfable) 
may  be  made  to  reprefent  their  objects  in 
a  very  animated  manner,  when  the  words 
are  forcible  without  being  turgid,  and  the 
image  ftrong  though  perfectly  x  natural. 
When  language  on  the  contrary  is  obvi- 
oufly  ilrained,  and  the  words  thrown  out 
of  their  natural  arrangement  into  irregular 
combinations,  there  is  generally  fome  cor*- 
refponding  affectation  in  the  thought 
which  will  marr  the  effect  ariiing  ulti- 
mately from  all. 

During  the  continuance  of  thofe  ages 
that  elapfed  from  the  decline  of  the  Ro- 
man empire  after  the  removal  of  the  im- 
perial feat,  to  the  revival  of  letters  in  the  fix- 
teenth  century,  the  faults  that  we  have  thus 
enumerated  as  character  i  (ing  the  ftyle  of 
Composition,  we  may  affirm  to  have*  been 
principal  caufes,  not  only  of  the  ignorance 
and  confequently  the  rude  manners  of^ 
men,  but  of  the  duration  of  both  to  fo 
diftant  a  period. — But  invorder  to  compre- 
hend the  truth  of  this  aflertion,  it  will  be 
neceflary  that  we. enter  more  clofely  into 
the  fubje£t. 

In 


Obfervations  on  Competition.          1£ 

In  what  light  foever  we  confider  man*- 
kind,   very   little    reflection  will   ferve  to 
convince  us  that  the  drefs  in  which  objects 
are  prefented  to  the  mind  is  a  circumftance 
demanding  the  greateft  degree  of  atten- 
tion.   It  is  in  this  cafe  with  the  intellectual 
powers  as  in  common  inftances  with  the 
external   organ  of  perception,     "  As  an 
"  object,   perhaps  naturally  uninviting  if 
"  not  difagreeable,  is  rendered  attractive 
"  by  an  happy  choice  and  difpofition  of 
"  ornament  in  the  laft  inftance,  fo  in  the 
"  other,  even  trite  fentiments  and  mode- 
"  rate  elocution  become  ftriking  and  ani- 
"  mated  when  thefe  are  recommended  by 
"  the  mufic  of  harmonious  expreffion  *." 
When   deprived    on   the    other   hand   of 
this  recommendation,  the  mod  judicious 
thoughts  lofe  to  every  reader  a  great  part 
of  their  energy,  and  appear  at  beft  like 
Ulyffes  in  the  rags  of  a  beggar,   difguifcd, 
ungraceful,  and  difqualified  to  attract  that 
attention  which  thefe  might  otherwife  have 

*  f<  Nam  quaedam  &  fententiis  parva,  &  elocu- 
tione  modica  virtus  bcec  fola  commendat."  Qi^intil* 
lib.  ix.  c.  4. 

C  2  irre- 


2o         Philofophlcal  and  Critical 

irrefiftibly  arrefted.  The  ftyle  therefore 
of  Competition  will  claim  from  thefe  con- 
fiderations  a  very  high  degree  of  merit, 
as  upon  this  fingle  circirmflance  depends 
the  impreflion  which  fentiments  make 
upon  the  mind  *.  It  is  true  indeed,  that 
when  in  confequence  of  a  great  difpropor- 
tion  betwixt  the  intellectual  faculties, 
thoughts  altogether  fuperficial  are  fpun 
out  and  elaborately  decorated  with  fuper- 
fluous  drapery;  a  judicious  reader  will 
foon  be  difgufted  with  fo  obvious  an  in- 
congruity, and  the  writer  will  accomplifh 
no  other  purpofe  than  that  of  difcovering 
the  levity  of  an  exuberant  imagination 
uneontrouled  by  the  underftanding.  But 
even  here  we  may  obferve  in  a  flrong 
light  the  effect  arifing  from  mufical  dic- 

*  Oux  oOWiOa  <T««  rr,v  <ruv0«n»  a*owai>  ru/ot 


w&v- 

xa*  trwyytvuv  x<zt  a(<*«  T»  /t*»«   xai 
ruv  £JSUT>J?  (pQoyyuv  TO  7<rapfrof  ru 
tif    rag   xj/u^af    w«p«0'aj'»o'av.      Aovyiv. 


tion, 


Obfer  vat  Ions  on  Compofition.          21 

tion,  as  the  ear  is  not  only  filled  with  the 
period,  but  the  pailions  themfelves  are 
often  powerfully  excited  when  reafon  re- 
ceives but  little  information.  It  is  reflec- 
tion that  detects  the  fallacy,  by  enabling 
us  to  diftinguifh  the  tinfel  of  puerile  fancy 
from  the  accurate  and  coherent  inveftiga- 
tion  of  reafon. 

As  it  is  thus  obvious  that  the  effect; 
which  any  difcourfe  produceth  depends  in 
a  great  meafure  upon  the  propriety  of  well 
adapted  expreflion,  it  will  follow  that  the 
ultimate  ends  of  Compofition  cannot  in 
any  cafe  be  obtained  when  this  propriety 
is  neglected,  and  when  fomething  unfuit- 
able  is  perceived  to  take  place  betwixt  the 
things  inculcated  in  any  branch  of  the  art, 
and  the  language  in  which  thefe  are  pre- 
fented  to  the  mind.  That  the  civilization 
of  mankind  was  originally  promoted  by 
perfons  who  excelled  in  the  higheft  fpecies 
of  this  comprehenfive  art ;  that  during  its 
maturity,  nations  the  moft  admired  flour- 
ifhed  in  every  circumftance  either  agree- 
able or  beneficial ;  that  upon  its  decline 
the  manners  of  men  returned  gradually 
C  3  back 


22         PJiilofophtcal  and  Critical 

back  to  their  primitive  rufUcity ;  and  that 
in  all  ages,  without  exception,  it  has  been 
the  principal  vehicle  of  light,  of  know- 
ledge, and  of  happinefs,  as  connected  with 
cultivated  life ; — thefe  truths  in  a  follow- 
ing fedion  of  this  work  it  will  be  our  bu- 
finefs    more    particularly  to   enforce    and 
illuftrate  *.     At  prefent  it  is  only  proper 
to  obferve,  that  in  proportion  as  we  admit 
all  or  any  of  thefe  to  be  derived  from  this 
original,  the  language  in  which  they  are 
exhibited  will  appear  to  merit  a  greater 
or   lefs   degree   of  attention.     That   any 
means  whatever  may  accomplim  the  pur- 
pofe  for  which  it  is  applied,  we  confider 
it  always  as  expedient  that  this  mould  not 
only   be   thoroughly   comprehended,   but 
that  it  mould  likewife  be  rendered  agree- 
able.    Neceffity  indeed  fometimes  obliges 
us  to  turn  our  thoughts  upon  fchemes  of 
utility,  in  the  purfuit  of  which  we  enjoy 
only  the  fatisfa&ion  of  contemplating  the 
end    as    making   gradually   its    approach. 
But  it  will  confift  with  every  man's  ex- 
perience, that  truths  the  moft  important 

*  Bookiv.  fe<St  \. 

when 


Objlrvations  on  Competition.          23 

when  conveyed  in  dry  language,  and  far 
more  when  wrapt  in  obfcurity,  are  com- 
monly ftudied  and  underftood  by  few  from 
whofe  memory  likewife  thefe  may  eafily 
be  erafed;  and  no  purpofe  of  general 
emolument  can  be  effectuated  while  the 
path  that  leads  to  it  is  intricate  and  un- 
frequented. 

In  order  therefore  to  extend  the  obfer- 
vation,  to  cultivate  the  minds,  and  to 
polifli  the  manners  of  mankind,  their  firft 
teachers  confidered  it  as  principally  re- 
quifite  to  clothe  their  inftrudions  in  the 
moft  captivating  drefs.  Hence  fable  and 
allegory  became  the  vehicles  of  moral 
fentiment  in  the  firft  dawning  of  fociety  *  j 
and  as  this  method  of  communicating  it 
was  conformable  to  nature,  whofe  ftandard 
is  unalterable,  it  continued  to  be  purfued 
fuccefsfully  when  civilization  had  made 
much  greater  progrefs  f .  In  many  cafes 

*  In  the  writings  of  Orpheus,  Amphion,  Linus, 
Sec.  not  to  mention  the  two  perfect  ftanciards  of  the 
cpopoea,  the  Iliad,  and  Odyfiey. 

f  Such  are  the  beautiful  pictures  of  Prodicus  and 
Cebes  in  particular,  befides  the  many  fublime  allc» 
gories  in  the  philofophy  of  Plato. 

C  4  (as 


24         Pkilcfoplrical  and  Critical 

as  that  of  the  legiflator  in  particular)  when 
this  medium  of  knowledge  could  not  be 
made  ufe  of,  precepts,  rules  of  conduct, 
and  even  treaties  of  war  and  peace  betwixt 
nations,  were  exprefled  with  the  utmoft 
perfpicuity  arfd  brevity,  that  thofe  truths 
might  be  rendered  univerfally  intelligible 
whofe  immediate  end  is  the  benefit  of  fo- 
ciety,  and  in  the  expreflion  of  which  ex- 
terior ornament  would  be  wholly  im- 
proper *.  By  thefe  means  the  mailers  of 
Compofition  alternately  edified  and  enter- 
tained mankind.  The  manners  of  men 
became  infenfibly  foftened,  and  the  love 
'  of  virtue  was  inftilled  into  the  heart  while 
their  attention  was  arrefted  by  harmonious 
expreflion,  or  their  judgment  convinced 

*  The  reader  who  would  fee  this  truth  evinced 
may  hare  recourfe  to  many  parts  of  the  Greek  or 
Roman  hiftory,  in  both  of  which  he  will  find  the  trea- 
ties made  with  different  nations,  particularly  with  the 
Greeks  and  Perfians,  and  betwixt  the  Romans  and 
Carthaginians  in  the  Punic  wars,  conceived  in  fuch 
fimple  terms,  and  fo  conciiely  exprefled  as  will  (how 
that  perfpicuity  beyond  all  other  circumftances  was 
Uudied  by  both  nations  in  the  relation  of  their  mutual 
agreements ;  and  that  thefe  may  be  exhibited  as  mo- 
dels of  ancient  accuracy  and  propriety.  Vid. 

by 


on  Cowpcftfon.        25 

by  fentiments  clearly  as  well  as  jufily  laid 
before  them;  thofe  principles  by  whofe 
aid  the  human  mind  is  moft  powerfully 
imprefied,  were  judicioufly  applied  to  for 
this  purpofe ;  and  that  defign  was  accom- 
plifhed  to  which  means  were  fo  happily 
adapted  in  confequence  of  that  knowledge 
which  the  firft  philofophers  difcovered  of 
the  nature  of  man. 

In  the  whole  procefs  here  carried  o'nr  it 
will  be  eafy  to  difcern  the  ufe,  or  rather 
the  neceffity  there  was  for  adorning  fci- 
ence,  when  thus  eminently  ufeful,  with 
the  infmuating  eloquence  of  modulating 
language  *.  Precepts  of  any  kind  are  un- 
doubtedly of  advantage  only  as  thefe  are 
univerfally  examined  and  underftood.  In 
order  to  be  rendered  thus  extenfively  bene- 
ficial, it  is  requifite  that  thefe  mould  be 
rendered  intelligible  to  all,  and  fo  entcr- 

*  "  Et  tamen  omnium  longitudinum  &  brevitatum 
in  fonis  ficut  acutarum  graviumque  vocum  (fays  the 
illuftrious  Roman  orator)  judicium  ipfa  natura  in  au- 
ribusnoftris  collocavit ;  aures  enim  vd  animus  aurium 
nuncio  naturalem  quandam  in  fc  continet  vocum  om- 
nium menfionem,  &c.  See  likewife  Ajo^<r.  AAixap- 
>a<r.  ixtfi  SwQiir.  Ovc/xar.  p.  30. 

taining 


26         Phllofophkal  and  Critical 

taming  at  the  lame  time  by  being  incul- 
cated as  the  morals  of  fome  beautiful  fable, 
this  vehicle  can  be  employed  as  to  evince 
that  their  authors  well  underftood  this 
important  truth,  that  he  alone  pofleffeth 
true  difcernment — "  Qui  mifcuit  utile 
dulci, — who  blends  the  agreeable  with 
the  infiruftive." 

Here  it  may  perhaps  be  objected  to  our 
remarks  on  Compofition  in  general,  and 
particularly  to  the  importance  of  attending 
to  expreflion,  that  in  whatever  language 
we  clothe  our  fentiments  thefe  cannot  be 
of  fuch  extenfive  emolument  as  has  been 
reprefented,  becaufe  the  far  greater  num- 
ber of  mankind  have  in  all  ages  fhown 
little  taile  for  the  arts,  and  have  neither 
inclination  to  ftudy,  nor  capacity  to  be 
improved  by  the  beauties,  however  exqui- 
lite,  which  are  here  pointed  out.  But  we 
may  reply  to  this,  that  in  order  to  be 
benefited  by  the  art  of  which  we  treat,  it 
was  not  neceflary  that  every  man  mould 
have  judged  from  perfonal  experience  of 
its  utility,  any  more  than  it  is  that  to  be 
convinced  that  there  are  fuch  cities  as  Paris 

and 


0  If er  vat  ions  on  Compifitiori.         27 

and  Rome,  we  muft  receive  occular  evi- 
dence by  furveying  thefe  on  the  fpot.  Of 
the  laft  we  receive  fufficient  proof  from 
tefthnony  wholly  unqueftioned,  and  the 
firft  becomes  fubfervient  to  all  the  ends  we 
have  mentioned,  by  refining  the  fentiments 
and  manners  even  of  a  few  whofe  natural 
abilities  thus  improved  qualify  them  to 
render  thefe  advantages  at  laft  univerfal  by 
their  influence,  example,  and  converfation. 
Philofophy,  confidered  with  regard  to  ef- 
fects on  practice,  is  often  fufficiently  un*- 
derftood  by  men  who  have  never  entered 
deeply  into  metaphyfical  fpeculation,  in 
the  fame  manner  as  the  performance  of  an 
able  mufician  will  communicate  the  moft 
delightful  fenfations  to  a  man  who  neither 
imderftands  the  rules  of  mufic  himfelf, 
nor  is  able  properly  to  employ  an  inftru^- 
ment.  In  both  cafes  it  is  only  indifpenf- 
ably  requifite  that  there  fhould  be  mailers 
excellent  in  their  profeffions,  and  qualified 
from  this  excellence  to  bring  emolument, 
or  procure  an  high  degree  of  pleafure  to 
thofe  with  whom  they  are  connected  in 

fociety. 


28         Philosophical  and  Critical 

fociety.  It  will  not  be  affirmed  by  any 
man  that  the  Athenian  people,  though  ac- 
knowledged to  have  been  the  moft  inge- 
nious and  polifhed  of  any  upon  earth*, 
were  all  of  them  orators  of  the  firft  clafs, 
or  were  fitted  to  excel  in  any  other  fpecies 
of  Compofition.  A  diftinguifhed  genius 
in  philofophy,  poetry,  or  eloquence,  made 
his  appearance  among  them  at  fome  times ; 
and  by  exciting  the  curiofity,  or  intereft- 
ing  powerfully  the  paffions  of  human 
nature  in  his  caufe,  became  a  benefactor  to 
mankind  in  general,  though  the  perfons 
more  immediately  benefited  were  difquali- 
fied  to  comprehend  every  part  of  his  writ- 
ings, and  far  more  to  imitate  his  example. 
In  fome  ages,  matters  in  almoft  all  the  de- 
partments of  literature  arofe  at  once,  like 
new  conftellations  illuminating  the  horizon, 
and  fpread  light  all  around  them  as  they 

*  Cicero's  panegyric  on  this  people  (hows  what  they 
continued  to  be  even  in  his  time.  "  Eruditillimos 
homines  Afiaticos  quivis  Athcnienfis  indoctus,  non 
verbis,  fed  fono  vocis,  nee  tam  bene,  quam  fuaviter 
loquendo  facile  fuperabh."  De  Orat.  lib.  iii. 

pro- 


ObJ foliations  on  Comfcjition.         29 

proceeded  in  their  courfe  *.  By  thefe 
means,  however,  the  people  of  Athens  be- 
came fuch  judges  of  language,  and  fo  ac- 
cuftomed  to  the  moft  delicate  propriety  of 
expreffion,  that  an  old  woman  of  this 
city  is  faid  to  have  known  the  celebrated 
Theophraflus  to  be  a  foreigner^  notwith- 
ftanding  a  refidence  of  many  years  at 
Athens,  by  the  wrong  pronunciation  of  a 
Jingle  word. 

As  ftates  therefore  and  kingdoms  were 
gradually  civilized,  as  men  of  genius  and 
letters  brought  Compofition  nearer  to  a 


*  The  age  of  Pericles  affords  an  example  of  the  firfl 
mentioned  improvement,  as  that  great  man  carried 
eloquence  to  a  pitch  never  before  known  in  Athens, 
and  may  be  faid  to  have  afforded  a  model  not  only  to 
the  orators  of  his  'own  age,  but  to  his  fuccefibr  De- 
mofthenes,  who  carried  the  art  to  perfection.  This 
was  completed  in  the  age  of  Socrates  (as  it  may  well 
be  called)  when  that  illuflrious  name,  with  thofe  of 
Ariflotle  and  Plato,  dignified  philofophy;  in  hiftory 
appeared  a  Thucydides  and  Xenophon  ;  in  poetry  an 
^Efchylus,  Euripides,  Ariftophanes,  Sophocles,  Me- 
nander ;  in  eloquence  Demofthenes  fhone  with  un- 
rivalled luftre  ;  while  Apelies,  Phidias,  and  Praxiteles, 
completed  this  illuftrious  catalogue  by  their  diftin- 
guifhed  eminence  in  painting. 

ftate 


30         Philofophical  and  Critical 

ftate  of  perfe&ion  * ;  fo  as  the  art  degene- 
rated from  this  flandard  we  fhali  find  a 

cor- 

*  It  is  neceflary  here  that  we  keep  conftantly  in 
our  eye  one  diflinQion  betwixt  the  effec~r.s  which  the 
poffeffion  of  immenfe  wealth  produceth  ufually  upon 
the  manners  of  a  people,  and  thofe  which  attend  the 
progrefs  of  literary  purfuits.  Experience  hath  evinced 
in  all  ages,  that  the  moft  hardy  nations  are  in  the 
courfe  of  a  few  generations  effeminated  by  opulence, 
and  that  every  refinement  of  luxury  will  in  time  be 
fubuituted  in  place  of  frugal  meals,  athletic  exer- 
cifes,  vulgar  attire,  and  mean  accommodations.  The 
ancient  Perfians  appear  to  have  had  all  the  advantages 
derived  from  this  fource  in  the  greateft  profufion,  and 
the  arts  attendant  on  luxury  feem  likewife  to  have 
been  in  fome  meafure  cultivated.  Science  however, 
and  art  in  its  utmoft  perfection  excludes  effeminacy 
as  much  as  rufticity  from  the  manners  of  mankind, 
and  preferving  the  medium  betwixt  thefe  extremes, 
confers  courage  while  it  fubdues  ferocity,  and  gives  an 
elegance  of  manners  perfectly  coafiftent  with  vigour 
and  intrepidity.  The  Greeks,  infpired  by  their  philo- 
fophers  and  orators  with  the  contempt  of  death,  and 
with  the  love  of  their  country,  confidered  the  great  king 
with  juftice  as  a  fplendid  barbarian,  and  furpaffed  his 
fubje&s  as  much  -in  the  atchievements  of  war  as  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  finer  arts,  by  whofe  influence  a 
nation  is  benefited  and  adorned.  The  Turks  in  the 
prefent  age,  and  the  Afiatic  people  in  general,  com- 
pared with  thefe  of  Europe,  exhibit  an  inftance  in  all 
refpects  fimilar  to  the  former.  Enervated  by  luxury 
\vkhout  having  feized  the  means  of  preventing  its 

confequences, 


I 

Obfer'vatlons  en   Compcfition.          31 

correfponding  change  wrought  on  the 
manners  of  men  which  at  the  fame  time 
indifpenfably  loft  '  their  principal  excel- 
lencies. Deprived  of  thofe  fchools  in 
which  the  practice  of  virtue  was  power- 
fully recommended,  while  tafte  acquired 
elegance  and  exquifite  fenfibility,  men  re- 
lapfed  into  barbarity  as  they  fell  into  igno- 
rance; and  that  favage  ferocity  (digni- 
fied with  the  name  of  courage)  and  abfurd 
oftentation  (miftaken  for  grandeur)  again 
characterized  nations  which  the  light  of 
knowledge  had  enabled  thefe  to  diftin- 
guim  *.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  the  fci- 

ences 

confequences,  the  inhabitants  of  the  fbuthern  provinces 
are  found  by  experience  to  want  that  fpirit  of  enterprize 
which  the  defire  of  knowledge  powerfully  ftimulates, 
and  that  unfhaken  fortitude  in  danger  which  arifetk 
from  contemplating  death  ss  a  fecondary  evil.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  have  lately  feen  a  people  in  the  north- 
ern regions  of  this  continent  barbarous  in  their  man- 
ners, and  expofed  to  the  rigour  of  an  inhofpitable  cli- 
mate, polifhed  gradually  by  the  introduction  of  thofe 
arts  which  the  others  have  neglected,  and  excelling  in 
the  qualities  which  we  have  now  fhown  to  be  their 
infeparable  attendants. 

*  in  their  joufts  and  tournaments  particularly  ;  in 
the  fums  that  were  lavifhed  without  taite  when  their 

princes 


32       O&firvafions  on  Compqfition. 

ences  in  appearance  continued  to  be  taught, 
and  the  arts  were  known  perhaps  by  more 
than  appellation  :    but  both  became  at  laft 
only   "  magni   nominis   umbra."     With 
regard  to  the  former,  had  the  purity  of 
philofophical  Jentiment  even   remained  in 
thefe  ages  of  darknefs,  it  could  have  pro- 
duced no  effect  on  manners  when  that  of 
language  had  degenerated.     But  this  fup- 
poiition  is  not  natural.     Juflnefs  of  fenti- 
ment,  and  an  happy  perfpicuity  of  ex- 
preflion,  had  the  fame  period.     As  men 
were  improved  by  philofophy  when  ren- 
dered univerfally  intelligible  by  fimplicity 
of  language,  and  attractive  by  appropriated 
decoration,  fo  when  thefe  means  of  im- 
provement ceafed   to  exift,   their  effects 
were  likewife  at  an  end.     In  proportion 
too  as  the  evil  fpread,  no  remedy  having 
been  applied  in  due  time,  the  cure  became 
ilill  a  matter  of  more  difficulty.     It  is  in 
all  cafes  whatever  much  eafier  to  deviate 
from  the  right  path,  than  to  recover  it 

princes  met  with  each  other,  and  in  the  numerous  and 
barbarous  retinues  with  which  thefe  affected  always 
to  be  furrounded. 

when 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        33 

when  we  have  wandered  and  fallen  into  a 

labyrinth. 

»  Facilis  defcenftis  Averni  :— * 
Sed  revocare  gradum,  fuperafque  evadtre  ad  auras* 
Hoc  opus,  hie  labor  eft.  VIRG. 

When  a  few  however  began  at  laft  to 
obferve  the  falfe  lights  by  which  they  had 
been  mifled,  and  to  follow  the  true  ones  $ 
befides  the  almofl  infuperable  difficulty  of 
forming  a  juft  ftandard  themfelves,  when 
error  had  every  where  become  fo  preva- 
lent;— the  prejudices  of  men  attached  to 
certain  modes,  however  irrational,  were  to 
be  fubdued ;  and  that  fatal  obftacle  to  all 
improvement  among  thofe  whofe  opinions 
are  taken  up  at  fecond  hand,  a  great  name 
on  their  fide  of  the  queftion,  to  be  re- 
moved by  a  clear  appeal  to  the  deciiion  of 
reafon. 

\Ve  have  entered  into  this  detail  par- 
ticularly on  the  prefent  occafion,  as  it  en- 
ables us  to  aflign  its  due  value  to  an  im- 
portant branch  of  our  fubject,  and  may  be 
of  ufe  to  thofe  who  having  fixed  their 
attention  (where  it  no  doubt  ought  prin*- 
cipally  to  be  fixed)  on  the  arrangement 
and  fentiment  of  their  work,  have  failed 

VOL.  II.  D  after 


34          Philofofhtcal  and  Critical 

after  all  to  render  it  of  general  utility  by 
neglecting  to  cultivate  the  elegant  and 
agreeable  *.  Thefe  men  are  chargeable 

with 


*  The  ancient  critics  agree  univerfally  in  their  fen- 
timents  of  the  high  value  of  the  ftyle  of  Compofition, 
and  their  other  writers  conform  exactly  (as  we  (hall 
fee  afterwards)  to  the  rules  which  thefe  lay  down. 
Ariftotle  tells  us,  that  a  writer  in  profe  ought  only  to 
ufe  a  loofer  and  lefs  ornamented  rythmus  than  the 
poet,  fo  that  his  ftyle  will  be  a  kind  of  carmen  folutum^  as 
Quintilian  calls  it.  PHTOP.  |3i£.  F.  T/AU/K.  y.  &  u, 
Longinus  ftrongly  exprefieth  his  judgment  on  this 
fubject,  by  faying  <pw?  j/«p  ru  OUT*  i<hov  rov  vou  rat 
x«A«  ovojuara.  ITtpi  Yv}>.  T/OMJ/A.  f*.  Dionyfius  Halicar- 
nafleus  confirms  likewife  the  preceding  theory  when 
he  juftly  obferves,  IIoAAoi  ^ouv  IIo»»iTa»,  x«t 


aurai?   ZtTfitvrt;    fixatxv     Ttva     xai 


aura  rfw?  xat  -nrfptTTW?  tsroXAiiv  rt]j 
Ao^w  zs-fpjtOnxav.  Ilfpj  2TN0E2>  ONOM.  p.  ii. 
edit.  Lipf,  The  Roman  orator  adopts  the  very  words 
of  Ariftotle  in  his  Difcourfe  on  Eloquence.  "  Perfpi- 
cuum  eft  igitur  numeris  adftriftam  orationem  efle 
debere  ;  carere  verfibus."  De  Orat.  feft.  56.  Again, 
he  calls  the  ftyle  of  Compofition  in  the  fame  treatife 
'*  optimus  &  praeftantiffimus  dicendi  effector  &  Ma- 
gifter."  It  would  be  as  endlefs  to  enumerate  the 

opinions 


Obfervations  on  Compojltion.        3$ 

with  a  fault  of  the  fame  kind  with  that  of 
a  man,  who,  though  poflefled  of  the 
higheft  intellectual  merit  would  juftly 
meet  with  neglect,  if  not  with  ridicule,  by 
pretending  to  frequent  the  beft  company 
in  an  unfalhionable,  flovenly,  or  antiquated 
drefs  *. 

As 

opinions  of  the  ancients  with  regard  to  the  excellence 
and  ufe  of  words  juftly  ranged  and  properly  fele&ed, 
as  to  mention  the  diversified  rules  which  they  have 
laid  down  for  the  attainment  of  this  purpofe.  From 
thofe  which  we  have  taken  notice  of  here,  it  ought 
not  to  be  concluded  that  thefe  great  men  either  com- 
pofed  themfelves  in  what  may  be  termed  a  poetical 
ityle,  or  recommend  this  to  others  who  write  in  profe 
upon  any  fubjf£t.  The  ancients  indeed,  infufed  in 
general  into  their  writings  a  much  larger  portion  of 
the  idioms  of  poetry  (as  we  (hall  fee  afterwards)  than 
would  now  be  thought  confident  with  purity  of  ex- 
prefTion.  But  they  mean  to  prefcribe  only  an  atten- 
tion to  harmony,  as  univerfally  neceflary,  which  they 
appear  to  have  confidered  themfelves  as  an  unifon  to 
the  human  heart.  Images  likewife  the  moft  pic- 
turefque,  they  permit  us  to  ufe  in  any  fpecies  of  Com- 
pofition  whatever,  as  tending  to  render  a  femiment 
clear  that  might  have  been  perplexed,  and  an  addrefs 
animated  which  would  have  been  overlooked.  7'he 
two  provinces  however  they  require  to  be  preferved 
wholly  diflinct. 

*  No  reader  will  here  fo  far  miftake  the  author's 
as  to  fuppofe  that  he  intends  to  reprefent 
D  2  ftvle 


36  Philofophical  and  Critical 

As  we  have  thus  endeavoured  by  obfer- 
vations   drawn  from  human  nature,   and 
confirmed  by  the  evidence  of  hiftory,  to 
ihow  the  important  ends  which  may  be 
accompli med   by  cultivating   the  ftyle   of 
Compofition,   it  is   necefiary,  in  order  to 
complete  our  view  of  this  fubje£t,  that  we 
confider  next  what  is  the  beft  method  to 
obtain  excellence  in  a  point  of  fuch  utility, 
by  examining  feparately  the  various  cha- 
raflers  by  which  different  themes  require 
exprefiion    to    be    diftinguifhed,    and    by 
pointing  out  that  fault  into  which  we  may 
fall  while  purfuing  too  eagerly  the  oppo- 
fite  beauty.     The  principal  characters  of 

ftyle  as  the  drefs  of  fentiment,  as  equal  with  regard  to 
its  effects  with  thofe  that  accompany  elegance  or  fordid 
negligence,  in  the  attire  of  the  body.  The  illuftration 
drawn  from  this  lafl  is  indeed  juft,  in  as  much  as  mean- 
nefs  in  either  will  expofe  a  man  to  neglect ;  and  the 
faults  are  therefore  of  the  fame  ktnd\  but  there  is  this 
ftriking  difference  betwixt  thefe,  that  though  intel- 
lectual merit  may  render  a  man  in  the  laft  inftance 
univerfally  agreeable  as  a  companion,  when  his  pecu- 
liarity in  point  of  drefs  is  overlooked,  yet  in  the  other 
cafe,  a  work  however  valuable,  in  confequence  of  its 
defect  in  language  is  known  only  to  a  few,  and  among 
thefe  is  only  taken. 

the 


Olfervations  on  Compofition.         37 

the  ftyle  of  Compofition,  according  to  that 
branch  of  the  art  which  may  be  fludied, 
are  fimplicity,  perfpicuity,  elegance, 
ftrength,  grandeur  or  fublimity,  propriety. 
The  faults  oppofed  or  allied  to  thefe  are 
meannefs,  obfcurity,  affected  prettinefs, 
weaknefs,  bombaft,  inaccuracy.  To  each 
of  the  former  therefore  we  fhall  appro- 
priate a  feparate  fection.  The  latter  will 
naturally  fall  under  our  confideration  as 
ftanding  in  relation,  or  in  oppofition  to 
the  firft.  In  order  to  render  this  part  of 
the  work  as  complete  as  poffible,  we  fhall 
in  the  lad  place  confider  what  may  be 
termed  omiiTions  or  defects,  rather  than 
blemifhes  in  this  matter,  that  thefe  by  be- 
ing expofed  may  be  avoided  or  rectified. 


SECTION     II. 

Of  Simple  Compofition. 

COMPLICITY  of  expreffion  is  a  phrafe 
often  ufed  by  men  who  have  not  af- 
fixed   to    it    any    determinate    meaning. 
The  greateft  number  of  men  who  are  in- 
D  3  fluenced 


3  8  Philofophical  and  Critical 

•J  •/    A 

fluenced  in  this  matter  by  the  judgment 
of  others,    either   give  their   opinion   at 
fecond   hand^  or  think  that   the  fimpleil 
ftyle  confifts  of  plain  words  put  together 
without   ftrength,   variety,  or  ornament ; 
an  advantage  which  will  be  poflefled  in  a 
greater  or  lefs   degree,  in  proportion  to  a 
man's  deficiency  of  genius.     A  very  fmall 
{hare  of  reflection  is  however  fufficient  to 
convince  us  that  an  opinion  of  this  kind 
muft  be  wholly  irrational,  as  it  would  de- 
prive Compofition  of  that  juft  variety  of 
language  with   which   fubje&s  altogether 
different  ought  neceflarily  to  be  treated. 
The  fame  juft  difcernment  which  makes  a 
man  feledc  fuch  exterior  decoration  as  is  at 
the  fame  time  fuited  to  his  circumftances, 
and  advantageous  to  his  appearance,  will 
enable  him  to  pronounce,  if  equally  un- 
biaffed,  that  nothing  can  be  truly  beautiful 
in  Compofition  which  wants  that  decent 
ornament  that  in  all  cafes  is  necefTary  to 
coriftitute  excellence.    A  theme  of  import- 
ance, in  order   to  be  properly  managed, 
demands   a  dignity  of  expreffion  corref- 
ponding  to  the  nature  of  the  fentimehts ; 

and 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.         39 

and  vulgar  epithets  ought  here  to  be 
avoided  with  the  utmoft  care,  as  tending 
to  deprefs  thefe  beneath  their  proper 
level  *.  When  ftriking  images,  or  illuf- 
trations  of  any  kind  ought  neceflarily  to 
be  introduced,  flmplicity  is  only  violated 
by  the  ufe  of  phrafes  wholly  unappro- 
priated :  —  but  thefe,  however  diverfified, 
while  neither  meanly  creeping,  nor  affect- 
edly pompous,  are  juft  fuch  as  genius 
may  perhaps  have  dictated  to  the  author  ; 
and  the  good  fenfe  of  his  reader  will  im- 

*  '*  Et  quod  facit  fyllabarum  (fays  Quintilian)  idem 
verborum  quoque  inter  fe  copulatio,  ut  aliud  alii  junc- 
tum  melius  fonet.  —  Rebus  atrocibus  verba  etiam  ipfo 
auditu  afpera  magis  conveniunt.  Et  honefla  quidem 
turpibus  potiora  femper  ;  nee  fordidis  unquam  in  ora- 
tione  erudita  eft  locus.  Quod  enim  alibi  magnificum, 
tumidum  alibi.  Et  quae  humilia  circa  res  magnas, 
apta  circa  minores  videntur."  Lib.  viii.  c.  3.  In  the 
fame  fpirit  a  critic,  formerly  quoted,  obferves,  (pn/xi 
<3*  TCV  |3ovAOj«,£K5i>  tpy(x.(rx<rQzi  fa£iv  xaAijv  tv  TW  <TUVTI- 


TOUTWW      fo'^pafw   TW 

xoivorepov  tv  TW  roipi   Ai^wf,    &C.      AIONY2.   AAI- 
KAP.  H-ifi,  2TN0E2.  ONOM.  p.  15. 

D  4  mediately 


40  Philofophical  and  Critical 

mediately  approve.  What  one  of  the  moft 
fenfible  writers  of  antiquity  fays  of  things^ 
may  furely  be  applied  here  with  propriety 
to  words. 

Eft  modus  in  lingua  ;    fiint  certae  denique  fines, 
Quas  ultra  citraque  nequit  confiftere  re£tum.     HoR. 

i.  The  fimple  therefore  in  Compofition 
may  be  confidered  as  ftanding  in  a  double 
relation  to  ivords^  and  to  thofe  images  with 
which  language  is  ornamented.    The  ftyle 
of  a  performance  is  fimple  when  exprefr- 
fions  are  happily  chofen,  properly  placed, 
and  fo  well  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the 
fubjecl:  -that  the  mind  perceives  in  them 
neither  abundance  nor  defect.   By  the  for- 
mer the  force  of  a  fentiment  is  deftroyed  ; 
by  the  latter  its  grace  and  its  perfpicuity. 
That  tafte  for  variety  which  is  natural  to 
the    human    mind,    operates    with    equal 
power  on  every  fubjecl:  that  attracts  its 
attention.     A  thought  ftrikingly  charac- 
teriftical  of  the  heart  or  mind,  and  cal- 
culated on  that  account  to  make  a  very 
forcible  impreffion  on  an  intelligent  reader, 
when  it  is  fpun  out  and  placed  elaborately 

m 


Obfervattons  on  Compojitkn.         41 

in  every  point  of  view,  fatigues   inftead 
of  affording  us  either  inftru&ion  or  en-  • 
tertainment : — its  force  is  gradually  ener^ 
vated,   and  at  laft  it  efcapes   obfervation. 
This  fault  is  often  imputable   to  authors 
of  unqueftioned  genius,  and  generally  to 
thofe  who  have  received  a  large  propor- 
tion of  imagination.     In   eloquence  par- 
ticularly, an  orator  is  apt  in  this  manner 
to  violate  fimplicity  by  attempting  to  en- 
large and  amplify  every  part  of  his  fub- 
jec~t. — "  As  (fays  the  eloquent  Chryfoftom) 
"  we  admire  a  phyfician  when  we  obferve 
"  him  reftoring  to  perfect  health  perfons 
*{  who  had   laboured  under  difeafes  that 
"  were  judged   to  be    incurable;    fo,   my 
"  beloved  friends,  behold  with  admiration 
"  and  aftonilhment  the  adions  of  our  Sa- 
"  viour,  who  could  not  only  expel  at  once 
"  difeafes,  however    inveterate,  from   the 
"  body,  but  could  render  thofe  in  a  moment 
"  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  who 
"  had    attained    to   the    very  fummit   of 
"  wickednefs. — To-day    (faid    he    to   the 
"  thief  on  the  crofs)  thou  {halt  be  with 

"  me 


42         Philofopbical  and  Critical 

"  me  in  paradife  *."  Without  remarking 
here  on  the  illuftration,  as  not  perfectly 
adequate  to  its  object,  I  fhall  only  obferve, 
that  the  fenie  at  thefe  lad  words  is  com- 
plete, and  the  words  of  fcriptirre  are  figni- 
ficant  and  ftriking.  But  ^when.  our  cele- 
brated orator  lengthens  out  this  defcrip- 
tion  by  talking  of  the  pry*}*  T»/A»,  Z™AU  me 


great  dignity,  immenfe  philan- 
thropy, and  inexpreffible  overflowing  of 
love  difcovered  in  this  tranfaction,  every 
reader  will  be  ready  to  think  that  an  ani- 
tnated  ilroke  of  eloquence  is  here  ener- 
vated by  an  amplification  inconfiftent  with 
fimplicity. 

As  this  character  of  the  ftyle  of  Com- 
pofition  appears  thus  to  be  incompatible 


**  016VV  UZTfOV   TOTl      'aUjU.aO^CV  OTAV 


•TI 


isrpof  xaOapav    vymoiv    tTrctwyai'yiv'    »TW   x«» 
TO»  XPI£TON  Secuputffm  aj/awnrf  xat  fXTrAaj^iSi   ort 


xai    rrf   xaxtac  a?rixAA«^at,    xat  TTI?   TCOV  oupa- 


fATjAaxoraft      Zriajpos    HAST    f^uou   f<r»i  «u  TW 
a&iru.      XPTIO2T.   ci;  TO  f«up.  p.  488. 

with 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        43 

with  improper  diffufion,  fo  it  is  in  other 
cafes   equally  violated  by  the  affectation 
of  brevity.     The  mind,  like  the  body,  is 
equally  debilitated  by  too  much,  and  by 
too   little    exercife.      It   perceives   imme-* 
diately  a  defect  of  expreffion  when  the 
parts  of  a  fubject  are  not  mown  in  their 
full  proportions,  and  when  thoughts  are 
crouded  fo  clofely  together  that  it  requires 
the  force  of  conftant  recollection  to  con- 
template thefe  apart.    A  noble  and  ftriking 
fentiment  is  often  overlooked  by  an  error 
of  this  kind,  juft  as  a  fingle  figure  though 
intenfely  animated  may  efcape  the  eye  in 
a  piece  of  hiftory-painting,  by  being  im- 
properly placed  in'  a  promifcuous  group. 
An  object  delineated  with  fimplicity  is  one 
in  which  all  is  uniform,  regular,  and  con- 
fident.    When  thefe  fucceed  one  another 
with  too  much  rapidity,  regularity  can  no 
longer  be  attended  to  in  their  difpofition ; 
and  inftead  of  being  prefented  to  the  mincj 
in  2ifuitable  drefs,  fuch  objects  cannot  be 
faid   with   propriety   to   have    any  form 
whatever. 

Should 


44         Philofophical  and  Critical 

Should  it  be  faid  after  all,  that  the  affec- 
tation of  concifenefs  which  is  cenfured 
here,  is  rather  in  general  destructive  of 
ferjpictiity-i  than  inconfiftent  wiflijtmp/tctty 
of  language,  we  may  anfwer,  that  if  the 
latter  can  only  be  obtained  when  an  idea 
is  expreffed  in  the  fitted  words,  and  is 
exhibited  in  a  drefs  at  the  fame  time  un- 
oftentatious  and  attractive,  it  will  follow 
that  when  language  wants  thefe  diftin-' 
guifhing  qualities  it  can  with  no  more 
propriety  be  denominated  fimple,  than  this 
epithet  would  character ife  the  appearance 
of  a  man  whofe  clothes  were  difpropor- 
tioned  to  the  fhape  or  fize  of  his  body; 
and  deftitute  of  that  beautiful  fymmetry 
which  gives  eafe  as  well  as  dignity  to  the 
deportment. 

Among  the  ancients  there  is  perhaps 
no  writer  who  more  frequently  lofeth  fight 
of  iimplicity  by  this  affectation  of  peculiar 
brevity,  than  the  fatyrift  Perfms.  Perhaps 
indeed  of  all  the  other  branches  of  Com- 
pofition,  fatire  is  that  in  which  it  is  moft 
necefiary  to  render  a  ftroke  energetical  by 
a  mode  of  expreflion  at  the  fame  time 

concife 


Obf creations  on  Gompojition.        45 

concife  and  forcible.  But  the  poet  above- 
mentioned  will  furely  be  deemed  by  every 
intelligent  reader  to  have  erred  in  attempt- 
ing to  imitate  this  beauty.  The  very  firft 
lines  of  his  poem  prefent  to  us  fentiments 
that  appear  disjointed,  becaufe  the  lan- 
guage is  defective  in  which  thefe  are  re- 
prefented. 
O  curas  hominum  !  O  quantum  eft  in  rebus 

inane  !—— 
Quis  leget  haec  ? — Min'  tu  iftud  ais  ?— -Nemo  her- 

cule  Nemo. 

Vel  duo,  vel  nemo..— Turpe,  &  miferabile.  Quare  ? 
Ne  mihi  Polydamus,  &  Troiades  Labeonem 
Pretulerint.— Nugze,    £c. 

In  thefe  verfes  the  thoughts  obvioufly 
feem  to  want  connection,  from  too  fcanty 
a  proportion  of  words.  After  having 
mentioned  the  vanity  of  human  enjoy- 
ments, we  are  not  aware  that  the  ex- 
preffion  "  Quis  leget  haec  ?"  which  is 
abrupt  enough  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fecond  line  of  his  fatire,  is  deiigned  to 
flrike  at  the  manners  of  the  Romans,  then 
fo  degenerated  as  to  read  nothing  that  bore 
the  femblance  of  morality.  Again,  in  the 

lines 


46  Philofophical  and  Critical 

lines  immediately  following,  the  fenfe  re- 
quires him  to  have  faid — >"  As  Hector  was 
"  afraid  left  the  Trojans  fhould  prefer 
«'  Polydamus  to  him,  fo  am  I  alarmed  left 
"  our  Polydamus  (Nero)  fhould  prefer 
"  Labeo  to  me." — But  by  leaving  out  the 
word  (vereor)  u  I  am  afraid"  the  fenfe  is 
left  uncompleted. — We  might  mention 
examples  of  the  fame  fault  in  more  mo- 
dern writers  than  Perfms  *.  But  what  has 
been  already  faid  we  prefume  is  fufficient 
to  illuftrate  our  view  of  this  fubject,  and 
to  dwell  on  the  faults  of  an  eminent  author 
longer  than  fuch  an  illuftration  may  re- 
quire, is  altogether  difagreeable. 

Let  us  obferve,  however,  that  the  ftyle 
of  Compofition,  confidered  as  a  vehicle  of 
thought  which  ought  to  be  juftly  adapted 
to  its  object,  is  in  the  above-mentioned 
inftance  principally  defective  in  that  fim- 
ple  defcription  which  demands  the  whole 
to  be  plainly  and  confiftently  reprefented. 

*  In  the  Satires  and  Night  Thoughts  of  Young, 
the  reader  will  meet  with  inftances  of  the  fault  here 
cenfured,  arifing  moft  probably  from  that  rapidity  of 
thought  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it)  which  often  cha- 
ra&erifeth  the  higheft  degree  of  genius. 

When 


Obfervations  on  Compo/ition.         47 

When  the  language  of  any  work  is  on 
the  other  hand  judicioufly  adapted  to  the 
fentiments,  the  perufal  of  it  affords  the 
mind  that  perfect  fatisfadion  which 
(though  unknown  to  ourfelves)  is  really 
the  confequence  of  having  obtained  an 
accurate  imitation  of  nature.  In  philo- 
fophy  and  hiftory,  as  well  as  in  fuch 
works  as  are  more  immediately  addrefled 
to  the  imagination,  this  correfpondence  of 
expreflion  and  thought  hath  the  fame  uni- 
form and  unvaried  effect.  Every  man  is 
ready  to  think,  that  placed  in  fimilar  cir- 
cumftances  he  would  have  thought  or  fpoke 
in  the  fame  manner  as  the  author,  becaufe 
in  fad:  he  hath  adopted  the  language  not 
of  an  individual,  but  of  human  nature. 

There  is  no  miftake  more  common, 
and  at  the  fame  time  fufcepiible  of  eafier 
refutation,  than  that  which  would  confine 
fimplicity  to  fome  particular  fpecies  of 
Composition,  when  in  reality  it  conftitutes 
the  principal  ornament  of  all.  Though 
paftoral  poetry,  obvious  narration,  or  de- 
fcriptions  of  ftill  life  are  the  ufual  fpheres 
of  this  excellence,  in  which  it  ought  inva- 
riably 


48  Philofophical  and  Critical 

riably  to  predominate,  yet  we  fhall  find 
upon  trial  the  fublime,  the  picturefque,  the 
nervous,  and  the  pathetic,  to  be  diftin- 
guifhed  when  in  their  higheft  perfection 
by  the  being  conveyed  in  words  the  moft 
fimple  and  artlefs.  We  fhall  here  pro- 
duce examples  of  each. 

Of  genuine  ftfblimity,  a  ftroke  univer- 
fally  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  no- 
bleft  that  ever  entered  into  the  mind  of 
man,  is  in  the  account  given  by  Mofes  of 
the  creation  *.  "  Darknefs  (fays  he)  was 
"  upon  the  deep,  and  the  fpirit  of  God 
moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.—- 
And  God  faid — Let  there  be  light,  and 
there  i^as  light  /" — This  example  of 
divine  eloquence,  exprefled  in  words  fo 
fuited  to  the  majefty  of  the  fpeaker,  agrees 
exactly  with  our  defcription  of  Jimple 
Compofition,  as  confifting  of  words  hap- 
pily felected,  in  which  the  mind  perceives 
neither  abundance  nor  defect. — In  a  fimilar 
fpirit  of  fubiime  fimplicity  does  Milton 
pourtray  the  fhield  of  Satan,  and  the  atti- 

*  Genef.  i.  3. 

tude 


Otyervations  on  Compo/itton.       49 

tude  of  this  prince  of  hell  treading  on  the 
burning  lake* 

He  fcarce  had  ceafed  when  the  fuperior  fiend 
Was  moving  tow'rcl  the  fhore  j  —  his  pond'rous  fhield 
Behind  him  caft,  —  the  broad  circumference 
Hung  on  his  fhoulders  like  the  moon  !  —  Par.  Loft,  b.  i. 

Let  the  reader  try  whether  this  defcription. 
(fo  completely  exhibiting  its  object)  would 
bear  either  the  addition  or  tranfpofition  of 
a  Tingle  word  without  being  impaired. 
Yet  here  is  no  ornamental  epithet.  The 
words  themfelves  and  their  arrangement  are 
the  moft  natural  and  fimple  that  can  be 
conceived.  —  Apollo  in  the  Iliad  leading  on 
Hector  to  the  deftrudion  of  Greece,  and 
levelling  the  mound  which  the  people  of 
that  nation  had  reared  for  their  defence, 
affords  us  an  example  in  all  refpe&s  ade- 
quate to  the  former. 

'    •'  IlpoTrapOiOi  $t  $0160? 
Pti'  o^Oac?  >wt7r£To«o  |3a&i*»;j 
Eg 


Ti 

AiJ^iJ*  f)(UN   tp»TI^*0>,   tpfJTTf   Si  T«p£C? 

-  IAIAA.  O; 


Apollo  planted  at  the  trench's  bound 
Pufh'd  at  the  bank  j  down  funk  th'  enormous  mound  i 
VOL.  II,  E  Roli'd 


50         PhitofopJiical  and  Critical 

Roll'd  in  the  ditch  the  heapy  ruin  lay, 

A  fudcten  road,  a  loi>g,  and  ample  v  ay  ! 

The  wondering  crouds  the  downward  level  trod, 

Before  them  flamed  the  Ihield,  and  march'd  the  God; 

Then  with  his  hand  he  {hook  the  mighty  wall, 

And  lo  !  the  tin  rets  nod  ?  the  bulwarks  fall !  &c.  * 

As   in   the  examples  above-mentioned 
we  obferve  the  fimpleft  words  conveying 
the  moil  fublime  ideas,  fo  in  what  follows 
thefe  appear   to  conftitute  the   moft  pic- 
turejque  defcription.     An  example  of  this 
kind  incomparably  animated,  occurs  in  the 
fourth  chapter  of  Job,  where  Eliphaz.  re- 
lates his  interview  with  an  inhabitant  of  the 
invilible  world,  in  fuch  language  as  placeth 
every  circumftance  of  this  tranfaction  be- 
fore the  very  eye  of  the  reader. — *'  In 
thoughts  from  the  vifions  of  the  night, 
when   deep  deep   falleth   on  men, — fear 
came  upon  me  and  trembling,  which  made 
all  my  bones   to  make.     Then    a  fpirit 
panned  before  my  face:   the  hair  of  my 
flefh  flood  up.     It  flood  ftill,  but  I  could 

*  We  have  here  given  Pope's  tranflation,  in  which 
a  reader  of  tafte  may  perhaps  think,  not  unjuflly,  that 
though  the  fub!imity  of  the  original  is  in  this  pafiage 
improved,  yrt  its  fnttplicity  is  in  a  great  meafure  left. 

not 


ftkfcrvaitons  on  Composition.         $t 

hot  difcern  the  form  thereof.  An  image 
was  before  mine  eyes : — there  was  filence, 
and  I  heard  a  voice." — What  fimplicity 
is  here  in  the  expfeffion  !  yet  what  ftrength 
and  vivacity  in  the  colouring  ! — Without 
the  aid  of  a  metaphor,  the  infpired  writer 
fets  before  our  eyes  a  picture  fo  calculated 
to  excite  the  moft  exquifite  feelings,  that 
it  was  drawn  (one  fhould  think)  by  the 
pencil  of  nature  herfelf. 

Virgil  (though  his  excellence  appears 
to  lie  rather  in  throwing  pathetic  than 
pi&urefque  circumstances  into  his  defcrip- 
tions)  yet  has,  wrought  up  a  piclure  of  the 
fame  kind  with  that  already  mentioned, 
in  his  account  of  the  ghoft  of  Hector, 
remarkable  for  the  beauties  pointed  out 
in  the  former. 

Ecce  ante  oculos  moeftiflimus  He&or 

Vifus  adefle  mihi,  largofque  effundere  fietus  ! 
Raptatus  bigis  ut  quondam,  aterque  cruento 
Pulvere  perque  pedes  traje£lu3  lora  tumentes : 
Hei  mihi  qualis  erat! _&neid.  lib.  ii. 

This  mixture  of  the  pictutefque  and  pa- 
thetic, exprefTed  with  the  moft  beautiful 
fimplicity,  characteriie'th  the  attitude  of 
Priam  in  the  Iliad,  befeeching  his  fon  to 
]{.  2  enter 


52         Philofophical  and  Critical 
enter  the  city  and  fhun  Achilles. 

£l[AU%it 

T\|/o?  a 


The  fimplicity  as  well  as  pi&urefque 
beauty  of  the  original  is  well  preferved  in 
the  tranflation. 

Then  wept  the  fage 

He  ftrikes  his  reverend  head  now  white  with  age; 
He  lifts  his  wither'd  arms,  obtefts  the  fkies  ; 
And  calls  his  much-loved  fon  with  feeble  cries.  POPE. 
If  in  the  inftances  above  referred  to,  the 
fublime  and  picturefque  in  Compofition 
appear  to  be  confiftent  with  perfect  fim- 
plicity of  language,  nervous  and  forcible 
defcription  is  equally  compatible  with, 
and  adorned  by  this  diftinguifhing  excel- 
lence. As  a  proof  of  this  we  find  Xeno- 
phon,  who  among  all  the  hiftorians  of 
antiquity  excels  in  the  beautiful  fimplicity 
here  recommended,  ufmg  words,  when 
the  occafion  demands  it,  full  of  energy 
and  fignificance.  In  the  account  of  Cyrus's 
battle  with  Crcefus,  we  meet  with  fome 
ftriking  examples  to  this  purpofe.  "  There 
"  was  then  (fays  he,  defcribi.ng  the  heat 
"  of  the  battle)  a  defperate  engagement 

"  with 


O&ffrvations  on  Compojltlon.         53 

* 

"  with  darts,   lances,   and   fwords,  com- 
"  menced    on    both    fides. — There    was 
"  great  (laughter  of  men,  terrible  clafhing 
"  of  arms,    and   a    tumultuous    clamour 
"  raifed  on  all  hands ;  fome  congratulat- 
*'  ing  their  companions,  fome  exhorting 
"  the    fearful,    and    fome   imploring  the 
"  Gods." — When  Cyrus's   horfe  a   little 
after    is   wounded,    the  confequences   are 
thus  concifely,  but  energetically  defcribed. 
**  Then   (fays  he)   you  might  have  feen 
"  of  what  advantage   to  a  prince  is  the 
"  love  of  his  fubjeds.     For  inftantly  all 
"  ihouted   at  once,   and   rufhed    impetu- 
"  oufly   to  the  battle.     They  drive,  and 
"  are  driven ;  ftrike,  and  are  ftruck.    One 
"  of  Cyrus's  attendants  in  the  mean  time 
*•'  difmounted,  and  placed  him  on  his  own 
"  horfe.     But  when  on  horfeback,  look- 
"  ing  around  him,  he  faw  the  ^Egyptians 
"  flaughtered  on  all  fides  *."     The  hif- 

torian 


* 


The  author  hath  tranflated  this  paflage  in  the  text, 
left  fome  readers  fhould  be  frightened  at  the  fight  of 
fo  much  Greek.     But  the  original  is  too  beautiful  to 
be  omitted,  and  incomparably  beyond  any  tranlladon. 
K  3 


54         Philofophical  and  Critical 

torian  was  fenfible  that  ornament  of  any 
kind  in  a  detail  of  this  nature  would  have 
been  wholly  unappropriated.    He  is  there-^ 
fore  principally  intent  upon  making  the 
words  correfpond  as  juftly  as   poflible  to 
the  things  reprefented  by  them.     Super- 
fluous epithets  are  therefore  avoided  ;  and 
there  is  a  flrength  in  the  expreflions  which 
conveys   to  us  an  idea  of  that  defperate 
perfeverance  with   which  the   battle   was 
carried  on.  —  So  confident  b  the  moft  per-. 
fed  fimplicity  with  that  vigorous  language 
which  renders  an  idea  diftincl:  by  its  pro- 
priety of  phrafe,  and  its  impreflion  dur- 


xau 


XTUTTOS  OTrAwy  xa»  (3jA&.-v 

i'Twv   «AA.i«>.af,    raw   J'f 


ITTOtlOV, 

JTTTTX  TO» 

aurov  f?r»  TOI/  f  XUT»  UTTTOU.  fi?  avtfl  o  uco? 
Oiw  r^£  caioajfou?  T«J  AiVUTrriouf,  &C. 
.  Ku. 


Obfirvations  on  Compofitivn.          55 

able  by  an  energy  fluted  to  the  nature  of 
the  object. 

Simple  Compofition,  confidered  as  con- 
fifting  of  well-adapted  words  without 
taking  in  adventitious  ornament,  thus  cha- 
racteriftical  as  it  is  of  the  fublime,  the 
pi£hirefque,  and  the  nervous  in  this  art, 
yet  in  no  cafe  whatever  is  feen  to  higher 
advantage  than  when  we  aflume  the  Ian-, 
guage,  or  paint  the  confequences  of  paf- 
fion.  We  have  obferved  in  a  former 
fedtion  of  this  work,  that  a  mind  agitated 
by  the  conflict  of  paffions  never  adopts  a 
metaphor  to  exprefs  its  feelings.  A  fud- 
den  exclamation  jult  infpired  by  the  occa- 
fion,  has  an  efFecl:  upon  .every  mind  at 
thefe  times,  fuperior  to  that  which  the 
•moil  artful  aflemblag-e  of  mellifluous  and 
ornamented  periods  could  ever  have  pro- 
duced. Art  never  indeed  appears  fo  dif- 
gufting  as  when  we  difcover  it  (however 
affectedly  concealed)  in  any  purely  pathetic 
reprefentation.  In  an  account  of  this  kind 
indeed  the  paffions  may  be  gradually 
wrought  up  to  the  utmoft  height  by  a 
progreiuve  and  elaborate  detail;  but  in 
E  4  fuch 


56         Philofophical  and  Critical 

fuch  a  procefs  the  author  is  required  to 
conceal  his  addrefs  at  the  time ;  and 
though  upon  a  clofer  fcrutiny  we  may 
obferve  it  with  admiration,  yet  we  juftly 
impute  a  defect  of  judgment  to  him  who  - 
lets  us  enter  too  fuddenly  into  his  defign, 
as  fuch  a  conduct  always  defeats  the  ulti- 
mate purpofe  of  his  work. 

There  are,  we  may  obferve,  two  me- 
thods of  rouzing  the  paflions  to  the  moft 
flrenuous  exertion,  both  of  which,  though 
different  in  other  refpects,  yet  agree  in  re- 
quiring fimplicity  of  diction.  One  is 
when  a  climax  is  carried  on,  either  in  rea- 
foning  or  in  defcription,  from  lefler  to 
more  important  objects,  until  the  whole 
becomes  highly  and  univerfally  intereft- 
ing : — the  other  arifeth  from  fome  judi- 
cious and  happy  imitation  of  nature  in  a 
particular  occurrence,  when  her  language 
is  fo  fignifkantly  adopted  as  to  make  a 
powerful,  as  well  as  immediate  imprefiion 
upon  the  heart.  The  difference  betwixt 
thefe  lies  principally  in  this,  that  the  effect 
produced  by  the  firft  method  is  (lowly 
accompli fhed,  though  an  entertainment 


Obfervations  on  Compoptlon.         57 

agreeably  protracted  prepares  us  imper- 
ceptibly to  feel  it  with  .energy ;  whereas 
the  laft  prefents  a  picture  whofe  force  we 
immediately    acknowledge,     and    which 
without  preparation  makes  its  way  to  the 
heart.     Of  the  former  kind  are  thofe  re- 
prefentations  which  either  fet  one  event 
In  a  ftrong  and  particular  point  of  view, 
or  derive  their  power  from  a  detail  of  cir- 
cumftances.     Here  we  permit  the  writer 
to  expatiate  at  leifure  on  every  topic  of 
perfuafion,  every  fentiment  of  tcompaflion, 
every  event  in  which  we  difcover  even  a 
remote  connection  with  the  principal  ca- 
taftrophe.     That  a.  fkilful   artift  may  by 
thefe  means  irrefiftibly  ftimulate  the  paf- 
fions,  as   well  as  excite   the  affedions  of 
his  audience,  will  not  be  difputed  by  any 
perfon   who    is    acquainted    with    either. 
Yet    he    who   placed   himfelf  in  circum- 
ftances   of  diftrefs,    or  happily  imitating 
that    of  another,    hits   off  an    expreffion 
which  every  mind  appropriates  as  its  own, 
poflefleth  this  peculiar  advantage  that  he 
takes  the  heart  as   it  were  by   furprize ; 
and  to  the  paffion,  of  whatever  name,  ex- 
cited 


58         Phllofophlcal  and  Critical 

cited  by  him  fuperadds  this  feeling  by 
which  it  acquires  incomparable  poignancy 
and  power.  In  both  cafes,  (the  lad  how- 
ever more  particularly)  we  fhall  find  the 
fimpleft  language  producing  the  happiefl 
effect:.  We  fhall  here  adduce  examples  of 
each. 

The  celebrated  ftory  of  Lucretia,  as  told 
by  Livy,  affords  us  a  fignal  example  of 
the  pathos  with  which  a  few  unadorned 
expreffions  may  convey  an  interefting 
event  to  the  mind.  This  heroine,  after 
having  fuffered  an  indignity  which  fhe 
determined  not  to  furvive,  fent  one  mef- 
fenger  for  her  father,  and  another  for  her 
hufband. — "  When  theie  arrived  (fays  the 
"  hiftorian)  they  found  Lucretia  fitting 
."  difconfolate  in  her  chamber.  Her  tears 
44  ftreamed  at  their  entrance.  To  her 
44  hufband's  queftion,  whether  all  was  well 
"  with.her: — No,  replied  fhe;  what  can 
44  be  well  with  a  woman  who  has  loft  her 
44  honour? — The  footfteps  of  another, 
44  O  Collatinus,  faid  fhe,  are  in  your  -bed. 
44  But  my  body  alone  is  violated: — my 
**  mind  is  innocent.  Let  death  be  my 

"  wit- 


Obfervathns  on  Compcfition.         59 

**  witnefs." — After  having  then  concifely 
related  the  tranfaction,  fhe  adds  in  a  fpirit 
of  true  heroifm. — "  I,  though  guiltlefs  of 
*'  crime,  exempt  not  myfelf  from  punim- 
"  ment,  nor  (hall  ever  violated  chaftity 
"  live  by  the  example  of  Lucretia.  She 
<s  pierced  her  heart,  when  Ihe  had  fpoke, 
*'  with  a  knife  concealed  under  her  gar- 
*<  ment,  and  falling  forward  in  the  pangs 
«*  of  death,  expired  *."  In  this  pathetic 
tale,  related  with  inimitable  fimplicity, 
we  are  dazzled  by  no  adventitious  orna- 
ment:— a  juft  and  beautiful  affinity  takes 
place  betwixt  the  tranfaction  and  the 
words  employed  to  defcribe  it.  The  hif- 
torian  paints  the  whole  with  a  fpirit  ade- 

I 

*  "  Lucretiam  fedentem  mceftam  in  cubiculo  in- 
veniunt.  Adventu  fuorum  lacrymas  obortce  : — qus- 
rentique  viro  fatifne  falva  ?  "  Minime,  inquit,  quid 
enim  falvi  eft  mulieri  amifTa  puuicitia  !  Vefligia  viri 
alieni,  Collatine,  in  leclo  funt  tuo :  ccterum  corpus  eft 
tantum  violatum,  animus  infons.  Mors  teftis  erit." — 
"  Ego  me  ifti  pcceato  abfolvo,  fupplicio  non  libero. 
Nee  ulla  deinde  impudicitia  Lucretije  exemplo  vivet." 
Cultrum  quern  fub  vefte  abditum  habebat,  eum  in 
corde  defigit,  prolapfaque  in  vulnus  moribunda  ceci- 
dit."  Hiftor.  Rom.  Scriptores  Omn.  torn,  i.  p.  18. 
Aurel.  Allob. 

quatc 


60         Philofophical  and  Critical 

quate  to  the  greatnefs  of  the  action.  The 
crime  was  quickly  committed ;  the  refo- 
lution  immediately  taken,  and  unexpect- 
edly executed.  The  language  is  therefore 
perfectly  concife ;  and  this  correfpondence 
betwixt  the  colour  and  the  pattern  imitated 
(if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it),  this  feemingly 
artlefs,  and  eafy  narration,  conveys  the 
whole  with  an  energy*  which  elaborate 
defcription,  if  it  had  not  annihilated,  muft 
have  greatly  impaired. 

As  we  obferve  a  pathos  of  the  ftrongeft 
kind  to  be  excited  in  this  inftance  by  the 
narration  of  one  event,  in  the  following 
paflage  the  fame  unaffected  fimplicity  cha- 
radtcrizeth  the  language  when  the  detail 
is  copious  and  ,  circumftantial. — Tacitus, 
after  having  related  the  life  of  the  cele- 
brated Agricola,  and  expatiated  on  the 
cruelty  of  the  tyrant  whom  he  ferved,  at 
laft  addrefles  his  fhade  in  a  noble  ftyle  of 
pathetic  eloquence. — *c  Happy  Agricola 
"  waft  thou  (fays  he),  as  thy  life  was  illuf- 
"  trious,  and  thy  exit  feafonable  ! — From 
"  thofe  who  witneffed  thy  laft  fcene  we 
"  know  that  thy  fate  was  fupported  with 

"  chear- 


Obfervatioru  on  Gompojition.        61 

««  chearfulnefs  and  refolution,  as  if  thou 
"  wouldft  have  configned  thy  innocence 
"  as  a  legacy  to  thy  prince !  But  to  me 
"  and  thy  daughter,  befides  the  bitternefs 
"  of  reflecting  on  a  loft  parent,  our  grief 
"  is  augmented,  becaufe  we  had  it  not  in 
"  our  power  to  watch  thee  in  ficknefs; 
*'  to  relieve  the  languor  of  declining  na- 
"  ture;  to  fatiate  our  defires  by  gazing 
"  on,  and  embracing  thee ! — Beft  of  pa- 
"  rents ! — Every  thing  was  then  no  doubt 
"  performed  to  thy  honour  by  the  moft 
"  affectionate  of  conforts  : — but  fewer 
"  tears,  in  confequence  of  our  abfence, 
•c  were  fhed  at  thine  obfequies ;  and  thy 
"  dying  eyes  exprefTed  unfatisfied  defire. 
"  If  there  is  a  place  for  the  fpirits  of  the 
*'  juft ; — if  (as  philofophy  allures  us)  great 
"  minds  furvive  the  ruin  of  the  body; 
"  ferene  be  thy  repofe*!" — In  this  ad- 

drefs 

*  "  Tu  vero  fclix  Agricola  non  vitae  tantum  cla- 
ritate,  fed  etiam  opportunitate  mortis.  Ut  perhibent 
qui  interfuerant  novifllmis  fermonibus  tuis,  conftans 
&  libens  fatum  exccpifti,  tanquam  pro  virili  portione 
innccentiam  principi  donares.  Sed  mihi  fihreque 
prater  accrbitatem  parentis  erepti  auget  mceflitiarn 

quod 


6 2         Philofophical  and  Critical 

drefs  the  reader  will  obferve  a  clima* 
finely  conducted  throughout,  the  laft  words 
of  which  particularly  have,  from  an  ab- 
ruptnefs  perfectly  natural,  a  very  ftriking 
effe<2. 

The  imprefiion  made  upon  the  heart  in 
thefe,  and  in  many  other  inftances  of  a 
fimilar  kind,  after  all  becomes  no  doubt 
weaker  in  fome  degree,  as  during  the 
whole  procefs  we  obferve  the  purpofe 
which  all  is  meant  to  effe&uate.  There 
is  likewife  an  appearance  of  art  in  the 
round  of  modulated  periods,  however 
feemingly  flowing  and  eafy,  which  pre- 
vents an  appeal,  how  forcible  foever,  frcm 
having  irrefiftible  energy. — But  in  that 
kind  of  pathos  which  is  produced  by  a 
fudden  exclamation,  ftrongly  expreflive  of 
internal  feeling  in  any  intereftihg  occur- 

i 

quod  aflidere  valitudini,  fovere  deficientem,  fatiari 
vultu  complexu  non  contigit. — Omnia  fine  dubio,  op- 
time  parentum,  addente  amantiflima  uxore  fuperfucre 
honor!  tuo  : — paucioribus  tamen  lacryrais  compofitus 
cs,  &  novifllma  in  luce  defideravere  aliquid  oculi  tui. 
Si  quis  piorum  manlbus  locus,  fi,  ut  fapientibus  placet, 
non  cum  corpore  extinguuntur  magnae  ar.imse,  placidc 
quiefcas !"  Id.  torn,  ii,  p.  279. 

rence, 


Obfervatlons  on  Compofition.          63 

rence,  the  effecT:  is  at  the  fame  time  power- 
ful and  univerfal,   becaufe  the  principles 
here  wrought  upon  are  common  to  all. 
Here  we  may  foon  be  convinced  that  de- 
clamation or  external  ornament  would  be 
aVguments  of  an  exceedingly  defective  un- 
derftanding. — Nature,  in  circumftances  of 
deep  diftrefs,  has  one  voice  in  every  heart ; 
to  imitate  which  juftly  is  to  excite  the 
moft  powerful  principles  of  perfuafion  that 
operate  on  mankind.     In  this  cafe,  a  man 
may  be  faid  to  fpeak  as  if  he  had  been  de- 
puted by  the  whole  fpecies,  every  indi- 
vidual of  which  adopts  his  language  as  his 
own.     The  exclamations  of  David  when 
he  heard  the  account  of  Abfalom's  death, 
are  fuch  as  we  may  fuppofe  that  every 
father  would  make  ufe  of  in  fimilar  cir- 
cumftances.    "  O  Abfalom,  my  fon  !  my 
"  fon !   Would  to  God  that  I  had  died  for 
"  thee !  O !  my  fon,  my  fon  Abfalom !" — 
There  is  inexpreffible  pathos  in  thefe  fhort 
repetitions,  as  they  mow  a -mind  wholly 
engrofled   by  the   contemplation  of   one 
object,  and  unable  to  depart  from  it  for  a 
moment, 

When 


64         Phthfophical  and  Critical 

When  Creon,  in  the  Antigone  of  So- 
phocles, finds  that  by  having  commanded 
the  fifter  of  Polynices  to  be  buried  alive, 
he  had  occafioned  the  death  of  his  own 
wife  and  fon,  how  perfectly  natural  is  his 
behaviour  !  —  "  Alas  !  alas  !  (fays  he)  why 
tc  does  not  fome  man  plunge  a  hoftile 
•c  weapon  into  my  heart  ?  —  I,  unhappy 
•'  wretch,  was  thy  murderer*!"—  Deaf  to 
the  conlblation  of  his  friends,  his  mind 
dwells  only  on  one  unhappy  object.  — 
•*  Ah  !  (fays  he)  my  fon  !  my  wife  !  I 
«'  killed  you  not  willingly  f  !  —  Wretch 


"*  Ai,  ai,   at,  ai, 
AHVTOIV  £>c£ij'  n  //,'  vx 
TJ>  a/M^idfixru 
yut  &C. 

Eyu  yap  s-'fyx  xavov 

Tjfyu  $>(X,IA    ITVfAOV. 

•f"  AJ/O»T*  a»  juaratov  ftvJp* 
O;  w  era  i  rt  ^*  K^  exwv 
O?  <r£  T*«UT«».      O 
OTT«  Trpoc  woTtpou  IM* 
ITW,   ITW 

pijy  o  xaAAir 
rrpjuiav  a^ 
f.      ITW,  ITW 
OTTWJ  /*TIX£T'  a^ap'  acAA 


" 


that 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        65 

<£  that  I  am,  where  fhall  I  fly  ? — Come, 
"  O  death,  to  my  relief,  that  I  may  never 
"  behold  another  day."  In  thefe  exam- 
ples it  is  not  the  poet,  the  orator,  the  man 
of  fenfibility ;  it  is  the  father  and  the 
hufband  that  fpeak.  A  fcene  like  this 
puts  us  in  mind  of  an  ancient  portico* 
temple,  or  city,  viewed  in  perfpeclive; 
Upon  contemplating  thefe  for  fome  time 
we  forget  the  art  of  the  engraver,  and 
ftand  beneath  the  mouldering  obelifks  of 
Tadmor;  walk  through  the  portals  of 
Perfepolis ;  recline  in  the  apartments  of 
Darius,  and  behold  the  great  originals  of 
ancient  majefty  and  dominion. 

II.  Having  thus  confidered  fimplicity 
of  expreflion  as  adorning  every  branch  of 
animated  Compofition,  when  no  foreign 
illuftrations  are  made  ufe  of,  it  remains, 
in  order  to  complete  our  view  of  the  pre- 
fent  fubjecl:,  that  when  it  becomes  necef- 
fary  to  introduce  thefe,  we  enquire  what  it 
is  that  conftitutes  fimplicity  in  the  orna- 
mental beauties  of  difcourfe. 

As  there  is  nothing  which  fets  every 
part  of  a  fubjecl:  in  a  more  attractive  light 

VOL.  II.  F  than 


66  Philofophtfol  and  Critical 

than  juil  and  appofite  images,  fo  the  ftyle 
of  Compofition  requires  not,  in  any  point 
of  view,  greater  delicacy  and  attention  in 
order  to  receive  the  laft  heightening  than 
in  the  prefent.     It  is,  indeed,  a  matter  of 
the  greateft  difficulty  to  cull  out  from  the 
ftore  of  imagination,  thofe  natural  orna- 
ments  which  give   colour  and  beauty  to 
the  arguments  of  reafon ;  and  to  propor- 
tion thefe  fo  exactly  to  the  object,   as  at 
the  fame  time  to  take  in  every  part  of  it 
at  once,  and  to  render  its  impreflion  for- 
cible and  permanent.     All  this  is  included 
in  the  idea  of  perfect  fimplicity.     A  feries 
of  argumentative  fentiment,  however  pow- 
erfully it  may  for  fome  time  arreft  atten- 
tion by  conveying  new  evidence  to  the 
underftanding,  yet  in  confequence  of  that 
uniform  Compofition,  which  muft  here  be 
carried   on,   often   becomes  tedious,   and 
when  the  thoughts  are  abftradted  is  almoft 
unavoidably  obfcure,  when  it  is  not  diver- 
fified  with  proper  illuftrations.     Thefe  are 
like  little  openings  in  a  country,  otherwife 
uniformly  cultivated,   which  at  the  fame 
time  that  they  prefent  fome  new  object  to 

the 


on  Compq/ition.        67 

the  eye,  beginning  to  be  fatiated  with  its 
former  view,  contribute  to  fet  off  to  the 
higheft  advantage  fuch  as  are  already  fa- 
miliar. There  are  few  men  in  whofe 
minds  imagination  is  fo  defective,  as  not 
to  fuggeft  many  of  thefe  ornaments  in  the 
conduct  of  an  exteniive  work: — but  the 
judgment  of  a  writer  appears  in  nothing 
more  confpicuous  than  in  their  propriety 
and  difpoiition.  A  fenfible  mind  will  be 
offended  immediately  with  a  group  of 
illuflrations,  promifcuoufly  fcattered  over  a 
performance  without  much  experience ; 
becaufe,  even  though  thefe  may  be  well 
appropriated  to  their  objects,  it  is  flill  at  a 
lofs  to  difcover  their  ufe.  Difguft  arifeth 
as  much  from  viewing  too  profufe,  as  too 
fcanty  a  proportion  of  illuftrations,  becaufe 
thefe,  in  fact,  lofe  their  name  wrhen  ap- 
plied to  truths  which  are  eaiily  compre- 
hended, and  which  require  only  to  be 
perfpicuouily  expreffed.  The  limplicity 
of  nature  is  here  likewife  violated,  incon- 
fiftent  as  it  is  with  the  glare  of  often- 
tation. 

F  2  In 


68  Philofophical  and  Critical 

In  order  to  preferve  this  inimitable  ex- 
cellence in  the  ornaments  of  difcourfe,  it 
is  likewife  neceflary  that  the  image  mould 
exhibit   a  complete   reprefentation    of  its 
original,  by  bringing  every  part  of  it  fuc- 
ceffively  into  view.     The  principal  defign 
with  which  metaphors  are  introduced,  is 
either  to  explain  fome  truth  which  would 
have  been  obfcure,  or  to  render  fome  fen- 
timent  ftriking  which  would  have  failed 
otherwife  to  excite  obfervation.     To  ac- 
complifh  the  former   of  thefe    ends*  the 
object  muft  be  fully  and  diftindly  repre- 
fented  to  the  mind  by  an  image,  as  the 
face  is  mown  in  a  mirror;  and  to  obtain 
the  latter,  it  muft  be  placed  judicioufly  in 
that  point  of  view  which  contributes  moft 
-effedhially  to  difplay  its  propriety.     That 
fcn  object  may  be  diftinctly  placed  before 
the  mind,  it  is  requifite  that  the  metaphor 
\vhich  conveys  it  mould  be  followed  out 
juft  as  far  as  illuftration  requires,  and  no 
farther.     Simplicity,  as  we  have  already 
evinced,  excludes  every  degree  of  fuper- 
fluity.     When    images    are   opened,   ex- 
panded, and  traced  elaborately  through  a 

variety 


O&firvations  on  Compofition.        69 

variety  of  circumftances,  the  mind  lofes 
fight  of  the  original  idea  : — its  proportion 
is  no  longer  obferved,  and  attention  flags 
infenfibly  becaufe  it  is  not  kept  awake  by 
the  current  of  fentiment.  We  may  ob- 
ferve  likewife,  that  in  philofophical,  or 
even  fentimental  performances  (as  they  are 
called),  this  attention  to  extend  and  expa-? 
tiate  upon  every  minute  circumftance  of 
an  illuftration,  ufually  indicates  fterility 
both  of  the  reafoning  and  inventive  fa- 
culty. Of  the  firft,  becaufe  thoughts  in 
this  cafe  appear  to  rife  very  {lowly  when 
the  mind  is  fo  intent  upon  drawing  out 
each  with  every  poffible  enlargement :  — 
of  the  laft,  becaufe  a  vigorous  imagination 
is  difplayed  by  the  variety,  not  the  la-r 
boured  decoration  of  its  images;  and  by 
rendering  each  fignificant,  but  neither  ter 
dious  nor  overwrought. 

While  we  avoid  in  this  manner  the  error 
of  purfuing  images  too  clofely,  we  muft 
take  care  not  to  fall  into  the  oppofite  ex- 
treme of  mixing  thefe  improperly.  This 
fault  is  occafioned  by  our  taking  only  a 
partial  view  of  an  illuftration  by  which  its 
F  3  difpro- 


70  Philofophical  and  Critical 

difproportion  to  the  original  in  fome  par- 
ticular   circumflance    efcapes    obfervation. 
In  order  to  make  the  whole  complete,  the 
mind  adopts  infenfibly  fome  fimilar  meta- 
phor,   and  thus  jumbles  feparate  images 
together  in  the  fame  defcription.     A  great 
genius  is  often  led  into  this  fault,  by  giv- 
ing a  loofe  to  the  exuberance  of  imagina- 
tion.    When   Demofthenes,    fpeaking   of 
./Efchines  fays,  that  after  lying  in  wait  to 
deftroy  an  honeft  or  upright    member  of 
the   commonwealth,    as    foon   as  he    has 
found  an  opportunity  to  accomplim   his 
purpofe,  "  he  burfts  like  a  tempeft  from 
his  place  of  retreat ;"  the  image  here  em- 
ployed is  no  doubt  incomparably  expref- 
five   and    fignificant. — But    when    imme- 
diately after  he  is  defcribed  with  the  ora- 
tor's  other  enemies,  "  like   a  wild   beaft 
furioufiy  afTaulting  him  ;"  and  in  order  to 
preferve  the  force  of  both  illu  ft  rations  he 
concludes  with  faying,  that  fuch  afiaults 
had  failed  of  "  rendering  him  cold  in  the 
caufe  of  his  country,"  we  are  fenfible  of 
an  improper  mixture  of  images.     An  ad- 
yerfary  fallying  out  like  a  whirlwind,  and 

carrying 


on  Compaction,         ji 

carrying  all  before  him,  may  be  compared 
with  propriety  to  a  tempeft  freezing  and 
deiblating  the  earth.  But  the  beauty  of 
the  firfl  epithet  (chilling  or  freezing)  is 
Joft  when  confidered  as  a  confequence 
arifmgJTom  the  affault  of  a  wild  beaft,  and 
the  images  are  therefore  faid  to  be  blended 
improperly.  The  reader  will  find  many 
examples  of  this  fault,  even  in  the  beft 
works  both  ancient  and  modern,  which  it 
would  be  ufelefs  here  to  enumerate. 

True  fimplicity  excludes  likewife  from 
the  ornaments  of  language,  all  affected 
brilliance  and  prettinefs  of  cxprefllon. 
Little  conceits  in  Compofition  have  the 
fame  effect  as  improper  condefcenfion  in 
the  tranfactions  of  life.  As  in  the  laft 
cafe,  an  exalted  character  is  debafed  by 
fuch  a  circumftance ;  fo  in  the  firft,  the 
higheft  fpecies  of  the  art  is  reduced  by 
this  affectation  in  its  value,  and  its  author 
rendered  little  and  contemptible.  Ovid, 
among  all  the  ancients,  appears  to  have 
fallen  moft  frequently  into  this  fault.  The 
moft  dignified  perfonages  in  his  fable,  are 
tainted  with  this  bias  of  the  poet.  Thus 
F  4  Phoebus 


72  Philofophlcal  and  Critical 

Phoebus  in  his  addrefs  to  Phaeton,  though 
interefted  as  a  father  to  difluade  him  from 
a  ruinous  attempt,  and  fpeaking  with  fer- 
vent affedion,  yet  ufes  this  low  kind  of 
wit  (as  Addifon  juftly  calls  it)  by  which, 
fuppofing  the  ftory  to  be  true,  he  muft 
have  greatly  funk  in  the  reader's  efti- 
mation : 

Si  mutabile  pe&us 
Sit  tibi,  conciliis,  non  curribus  utere  noftris. 

A4et.  lib.  ii. 

In  the  ftory  of  NarcifTus,  the  fame  affecta- 
tion chara&erifeth  his  defcription.  When 
the  youth,  heated  in  the  chafe,  retires  to 
quench  his  thirft  at  the  cooling  fountain, 
and  firft  beholds  with  admiration  and  love 
his  own  beautiful  face,  the  poet  defcribes 
Jiis  firft  emotions  by  faying, 

Dum  fitim  fedare  cupit ;  fitis  altera  qrevit; 
fc  while  he  flrived  to  quench  one  thirft  he 
raifed  another,"  i.  e.  the  thirft  of  gazing 
with  confuming  defire  on  his  own  beauty. 
Thefe  childifh  quibbles  which  the  author 
defigned  for  ornaments  to  this  (otherwife) 
noble  po.em,  are  incompatible  with  that 
iimplicity  which  is  conftituted  by  a  na- 
tural 


Obfer -nations  on  Compofition.         73 

tural  though  happy  difpofition  of  the 
fitteft  words,  conveying  ideas  to  the  mind 
with  eafe  and  perfpicuity. 

As  we  are  here,  however,  confidering 
the  illustrations  of  difcourfe,  which  are  not 
carried  on  in  the  preceding  examples,  we 
fhall  felect  one  other  paffage  from  this 
poet,  in  which  he  endeavours  to  heighten 
our  idea  of  diftrefs  by  comparifon.  When 
Hypermneftra,  in  one  of  his  Epiftles,  de- 
fcribes  her  terror  upon  having  heard  the 
groans  of  her  murdered  kindred,  and 
when  me  trembled  every  moment  for  the 
life  of  her  hufband,  me  exprefleth  her 
emotions  by  faying, 

Ut  Jeni  zephyro  fragiles  vibrantur  ariftae  ; 

Frigida  populeas  ut  quatit  aura  comas  ; 

Aut  fie,  aut  etiam  tremui  magis  *.•      •     » 

«  As 

*  Epift.  Heroid.  p.  136.  Edit.  Delph.  Though 
the  writings  of  Ovid  abound  with  little  faults  of  the 
kind  here  pointed  out,  yet  thefe  are  eafily  excufed 
when  we  find  them  abounding  likewife  with  fuch  ex- 
amples of  genuine  fublimity,  of  pi&urefque  defcrip- 
tion,  of  happy  feleftion,  and  of  juft  and  beautiful 
illuftration,  as  muft  convince  every  reader  that  the  au- 
thor poiTefled  an  eminent  fliare  of  the  mod  exalted 
Dualities  of  the  human  mind.  His  account,  or  rather 

prophecy 


74          Pliilofophical  and  Critical 


As  fragile   reeds  vibrate  to  the  gentle 
zephyr;    as   the   leaves  of  the    poplar 

"  quiver 


prophecy  of  the  general  conflagration  in  the,firft  book 
of  his  Metamorphofis,  affords  a  well  known  inftance 
of  fub!imity. 

.Effe  quoque  in  fatis  reminifcitur  affore  tempns,  &c. 
In  the  fucceeding  book,  when  Phaeton  has  thrown  all 
nature  in  confufion,  by  having  mifmanaged  the  cha- 
riot of  the  Sun  £a  thought  which  a  great  imagination 
could  alone  have  conceived)  there  is  a  circumftance 
felected  with  peculiar  propriety  in  the  attitude  of 
Telius  rearing  her  blafted  head,  and  addrcfling  Jupiter 
in  her  laft  refource  The  poet,  after  having  painted 
the  univerfal  conflagration,  makes  this  perfonage  arife 
from  the  center  of  her  dark  dominions.  But  no  fooner 
does  fhe  face  the  light,  than,  before  (he  can  utter  % 
word,  we  are  told 

Oppofuit  manum  fronti,  magnoque  tremore 
Omnia  concutiens,  paullumfubfcdity  &  infra 
Quam  folet  efle  fuit. —  Met.  lib.  ii. 

The  circurnflance  of  her  clapping  her  hand  upon  her 
lead  as  foon  as  fhe  felt  the  heat,  is  natural  and  pic- 
turefque ;  but  when  we  obferve  her  fhrinking  immer 
diately  after,  and  feeking  a  cooler  feat  before  fhe  can 
fpeak,  we  admire  the  addrefs  and  genius  of  the  poet, 
who  by  this  fingle  ftroke  impreffeth  a  ftronger  idea  of 
the  univerfal  ruin  that  threatened  nature,  than  by 
any  description  however  elaborate.  An  imagination 
truly  of  a  fuperior  order  is  never  evinced  more  confpi- 
cuoufly,  than  by  fixing  on  one  circumftance  vividly 
characleriftical,  inftead  of  running  into  minute  repre- 
fentation.  In  the  fine  poem  entitled  Carthon,  Offian 

reprefents 


Otfervattons  on  Compofiticn.         75 

<*  quiver  to  the  gale — I  trembled  thus,  and 
*l  even  more." — Surely  this  image  is  un- 
natural and  affeded.  A  perfon  animated 
by  fome  part  of  the  feelings  which  the  re- 
collection of  fo  tremendous  a  fcene  mufl 
have  awakened,  would  never  have  ufed 
any  metaphor  whatever  to  exprefs  the 
convulfion  of  agonized  nature,  and  far 
lefs  one  borrowed  from  objects  which  are 
fhown  in  the  fport  and  wantonnefs  of 
fancy. 

The  moft  perfect  examples  of  fimpli- 
city  in  the  images  with  which  the  ftyle  of 
Conipofition  ought  to  be  embellimed,  are 
to  be  found  in  the  facred  writings.  Of  a 
far  different  kind  from  the  inftances  for- 
merly mentioned,  is  the  Evangelift's  de- 
fcription  of  the  fcene  prefented  to  the  ado- 
nimed  fpeclators  who  went  on  the  third 
day  to  vifit  the  fepulchre  of  our  Saviour  ! — 

reprefents  the  ruins  of  Balelutha  in  the  fame  manner, 
by  the  figure  of  "  a  fox  looking  out  at  a  window." 
This  power  of  calling  out  a  variety  of  ideas  exhibiting 
a  complete  reprefentation  of  many  objefts,  by  the  fe- 
le&ion  of  one  fingle  ftroke,  chara£terifeth  genius  in  its 
utmoft  extent,  and  is  rarely  to  be  found  unlefs  in 
>yorks  of  thfe  greateft  eminence. 

w  Behold! 


7  6        .Phihfophical  and  Critical 

"  Behold !  there  was  a  great  earthquake ! 
"  For  the  angel  of  the  Lord  defcended 
"  from  heaven,  and  came,  and  rolled  back; 
"  the  ftone  from  the  door,  and  fat  on  it ! — • 
"  His  countenance  was  like  lightning ! 
<f  and  his  raiment  white  as  fnow !  And 
"  for  fear  of  him  the  keepers  did  {hake, 
"  and  became  as  dead  men!"  Let  any 
reader  of  the  leaft  fenfibility,  compare  the 
feelings  excited  by  this  defcription  with 
thofe  that  are  rouzed  by  the  preceding 
one.  The  tranfaction  is  related  fo  fimply 
as  to  betray  no  affectation  in  the  writer : 
yet  we  fee  the  ftone  removed  from  the 
fepulchre,  behold  the  face  and  appearance 
of  him  who  fat  on  it ;  and  make  with  the 
guard  who  were  chilled  with  amazement 
at  the  fcene ! 

An  effect  very  different  from  the  former 
is  produced  by  the  following  paffage ;  yet 
the  fame  unaffected  eafe  and  fimplicity  of 
illuftration  give  its  fignificance  to  each. 
When  the  Gods  are  engaged  in  combat 
with  each  other,  upon  winding  up  the 
ftory  of  the  Iliad,  Neptune  and  Apollo  ad- 
vance with  an  hoftile  femblance,  and  the 

god 


Qbferiiations  on  Gompofition.        77 

god  of  ocean  dares  his  compeer  with  fome 
pride  and  fuperiority  to  the  fight.  The 
dignity  of  both  characters  is  here  to  be 
preferved  ;  and  Homer  has  fucceeded  won- 
derfully in  keeping  up  the  majefty  of  the 
divine  nature  in  the  conduct  of  Apollo 
while  he  retires  from  Neptune.  Neither 
arrogating  equality  with,  nor  acknow- 
ledging inferiority  to  the  other,  he  only 
{hows,  by  an  image  which  has  peculiar 
fignificance  in  the  mouth  of  a  deity,  that 
the  fubjed:  of  their  difpute  is  not  of  im- 
portance enough  to  juftify  their  con- 
tention. 


,  oux  av  jtxs  < 

n  J»  trot  <ye,  (Spores  evtxx 
v,  oj  (^yAAo«n!>  foixoTsj,  aAAor?  u.tv  re 

TcXiQovcrtv 
AAAors  <Tav  (pOti/uOouff 

--  To  combat  for  mankind 
111  fuits  the  wifdom  of  ccleftial  mind. 
For  what  is  man  ?—  Calamitous  by  birth, 
They  owe  their  life  and  nouridiment  to  earth  ; 
Like  yearly  leaves  that  now  with  beauty  crown'd 
Smile  on  the  fun,  now  wither  on  the  ground.    POPE. 
The  comparifon  which  the  mind  is  led 
by  this  paflage  to  form  betwixt  the  glo- 
rious Being  who  pronounceth  thefe  words, 

and 


78  Philofophical  and  Critical 

and  the  creatures  to  whom  they  refer,  in*- 
effably  heightens  the  effect  produced  by 
them.  What  can  be  conceived  more  re- 
mote from  the  immutable  eflence  of  Deity 
than  leaves  fcattered  on  earth  by  the  gales 
of  autumn  ! — Yet  what  more  expreffive  of 
the  fragility  of  man  ! 

III.  We  have  now  confidered  fimplicity 
as  a  character  of  juft  Composition,. extend- 
ing to  every  fpecies  of  this  comprehenfive 
art,  and  not  only  confiftent  with,  but  re- 
quired neceflarily  to  conftitute  the  prin- 
cipal beauties  we  admire  in  it. — But  the 
queftion  will  here  naturally  occur, — by 
what  method  is  this  excellence  to  be  ac- 
quired ? — In  anfwer  to  this  enquiry,  let  it 
be  obferved,  that  difficult  as  fuch  an  imi- 
tation of  nature  may  be  deemed  in  moft 
in  (lances,  "yet  it  is  often  hit  off  moft  hap- 
pily by  thofe  who  appear  to  have  aimed 
leaft  at  its  attainment.  He  who  thoroughly 
comprehends  his  fubject,  and  who  is  at- 
tentive rather  to  that  kind  of  expreffion 
which  a  fentiment  requires,  than  to  thofe 
fuperfluous  ornaments  wrhich.  may  fet  it 
off  to  advantage,  will  probably  convey  it 

in 


Obfirvatlons  on  Compojition.         79 

in  the  firnplefl  and  moft  natural  lan- 
guage *.  A  mind  in  which  the  under- 
itanding  exerts  confiderable  influence,  will 
permit  the  language  to  rife  with  the 
thought  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it),  rather 
than  the  thought  to  be  exalted  by  the  ex- 
preffion ;  as  the  words  in  this  cafe  will 
always  be  fuitable,  and  every  object  will 
be  mown  in  /#//,  but  not  in  Drained  di- 
menfions.  Thus  the  fublime,  the  rati- 
onal, the  picturefque,  the  pathetic,  will 
each  exert  its  proper  influence  on  the 
mind;  producing  that  effect  which  nature, 
happily  imitated,  never  fails  to  accomplifh. 
When,  on  the  contrary,  a  fuperficial  fen- 
timent  is  elaborately  decorated  with  the 
pomp  of  ornamental  epithet,  a  judicious 
reader  is  fenfible,  upon  recollection,  that 
the  part  is  overacted,  and  challenges  im- 
mediately the  defect  of  fimplicity.  A 
difproportion  appears  betwixt  the  thought 
ftript  of  its  ornaments,  and  the  words  that 

*  "  Coniperfa  fit  oratio  (fays  Cicero)  verborum 
fententiarumque  floribus,  id  non  fufum  per  totam  ora- 
tionem,  fed  ita  diftin<ftum,  ut  fiat  quafi  in  ornntu  Jn- 
fjgnia  qusedatn  difpof.ta  &  lumina."  Ds  Orat.  lib.  iii. 

convey 


86  Philofophlcal  and  Critical 

convey  it,  which  indicates  a  correfpondirrg 
difproportion  of  thofe  powers  which  gave 
rife  originally  to  fo  unnatural  an  aflem- 
blage. 

A  certain  pedantic  affectation  may  cha- 
racterife  the  ftyle  of  an  author's  compo- 
fition  as  much  as  it  may  his  manners. 
In  both  cafes  a  reader  of  penetration  will 
impute  this  fault  to  the  fame  caufe,  a. 
fir  iking  defect  of  the  difcerning  faculty. 
Both  therefore  may  be  corrected  by  the 
fame  means.  Eafe  and  elegance  of  ad- 
drefs  is  obtained  by  frequenting  the  beft 
company,  and  by  converfing  with  people 
whom  thefe  popular  qualities  have  ren- 
dered univerfally  agreeable.  By  thefe 
means  the  ruft  of  pedantry  is  gradually 
filed  off,  and  a  man  without  having  prac- 
tifed  flavifh  imitation,  becomes  affimilated 
to  thofe  whom  he  hath  regarded  as  models, 
while  his  deportment  ftill  continues  to  be 
marked  by  thofe  radical  fignatures,  in  their 
full  ftrength,  which  nature  ftamps  as  in- 
delibly on  the  mind  as  on  the  countenance. 
In  Compofition  we  ought  to  proceed  in  a 
fimilar  manner.  By  entering  deeply  into 

meta- 


Obfervations  on  Compq/ition.          8i 

metaphyfical  fpeculation,  a  man  who  wants 
that  acutenefs  of  intellect)  that  power  of 
developing   truth  from  the  chaos  of  ab- 
ftracted  definition  and  plaufible  diftinction, 
which  denominates  a  matter  in  this  fci- 
ence,  will  catch  the  faults  of  his  original 
without   acquiring    his    excellence*      One 
philofopher  who  thinks  deeply,  but  whofe 
difpofition   is   accurate  and   his    language' 
peripicuous,  will  acquire  imitators,   who, 
unable  to  enter  with  real  difcernment  into 
a   fubject,    puzzle    themfelves    and    their 
readers  by  a  conftant  affectation  of  pre- 
cifion;  and,  incapable  of  ranging  diftindt 
objects  with  accuracy,  throw  a  promifcuous 
glare   over   all.     By  this    abfurd   attempt 
the  genuine  character  of  the  imitator  is 
dijlorted  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it),  but 
not  concealed: — an  inequality  which  might 
have  been  overlooked  is  only  called  out 
into  confpicuous  light  by  comparifon,  and 
we  fee  not  what  the  man  was  defigned  fof 
by  nature,  but  what  he  is  rendered  by  at/- 
tempting to  be  more. 

In    order,    therefore,    to    exprefs    our 
thoughts  at  the  fame  time  with  precifion 

VOL.  II.  G  and 


8  2          Phihfophical  and  Critical 

and  fimplicity,  a  writer  ought  to  perufe 
the  molt  approved  ftandards  in  every  lite- 
rary department,  but  without  a  fettled 
purpoie  to  follow  invariably  any  original 
whatever.  His  own  manner  will  form 
infenfibly  while  he  is  engaged  in  ftudying 
thofe  of  others  which  have  obtained  ap- 
probation ;  and  that  difcriminating  bias 
wrhich  cannot  be  concealed ^  will  be  fet  off 
to  advantage  by  being  mown  undifguifed. 
There  is  an  affcdtation  even  of  eafc^  which 
to  a  man  of  true  fenfibility  is  obvious  and 
difgufting.  Like  the  aukward  geftures  of 
a  pedant  affecting  to  imitate  elegance  of 
manners,  the  real  character  appears  every 
moment  through  the  difguife,  and  a  dif- 
torted  refemblance  expofeth  it  to  ridicule  *, 
It  is  by  ftudying  the  writings  of  authors, 
who  themfelves  have  followed  the  ftandard 
of  nature,  that  we  mall  obtain  that  expref- 

*  In  order  to  have  this  obfervation  exemplified,  an 
ingenious  reader  may  compare  the  writings  of  Addifon 
(one  of  the  cafieffc1  of  authors)  with  fome  more  mo- 
dern performances.  The  flowing  and  elegant  lan- 
guage of  the  former  forms  a  contraft  to  ftiffnefs  and 
alTe£lution,  which  fhows  thefe  in  a  point  of  view  more 
confpkuous  than  v\  hea  they  are  contemplated  apart. 

fioa 


Obfervattons  on  Compofition.       83 

(ion  appropriated  to  every  object  fo  hap- 
pily as  to  admit  of  no  alteration  without 
being  injured,  which  we  underftand  by  the 
term  fimple.  A  tafte  naturally  good  may 
be  fpoiled  by  being  converfant  only  with 
faulty  and  defective  models,  and  a  judg- 
ment which  would  have  defpifed  thofe 
little  conceits  that  fometimes  fland  in  place 
of  intereiling  fentiment,  may  be  brought 
to  approve  and  even  imitate  thefe,  when 
characterifmg  the  patterns  that  are  fub- 
mitted  to  its  examination. 

ffOooccoccooo:oooooco&ooooooocceodooooooooooooooocooooooocooooooocoodoooooooocooaQ609co«ooocoooo^ 

SECTION     III. 

Of  Perfpiciious  Compofition* 

TT  is  a  truth  at  the  fame  time  fuggefted 

by   reflection,    and    confirmed  by  the 

concurring  teftimony  of  all  authors  who 

have  thought  on  the  fubjecl:  of  Compo- 

fition,  that  one  character  which  ought  to 

diftinguifh  principally  every  fpecies  of  it 

without  exception,  is  a  certain  happy  per- 

fpicuity.     This  excellence  goes  under  dif- 

G  2  ferent 


84         Philosophical  and  Critical 

ferent  names,  as  the  fubjefts  direct  to 
which  it  is  applied  *.  An  ancient  critic, 
who  confiders  perfpicuity  in  as  extenfive 
a  view  as  we  are  required  to  take  upon 
this  occafion,  explains  its  meaning  fo  prq- 

*  Quintilian  denominates     perfpicuity  the  capital 
excellence  of  an  orator.     *'  Prima  eft  (fays  he)  elo- 
quentire  -virtus  peripicuitas."    Lib.  iii.  c.  3.     But  he 
immediately   explains   himielf.     "  Quo  quifque  in- 
genio  minus  valet,  hac  (perfpicuitate)  ic  magis  attollere, 
&  dilatare  conatur,  ut  ftatura  breves  in  digitos  erigun- 
tur,  &  plura  infirmi  minantur."  Id.  ibid.    This  would 
appear  at  firft  to  be  an  inadequate  view  of  the  prefeut 
fubjedt,   which    canr.ot,   as   we   fhall  fee  afterwards, 
dittinpuifh,   at  lead  in  one  important  fenfe,  the  writ- 
ings of  an  author  who  has  a  fmall  ftare  of  genius. 
Sometimes    this    word    is    ufed    to    fignify    philo- 
fophical  evidence.    Thus  Diogenes  Laertius  defines  it. 
2aOwKX    Si  fft  Af£j?  j/vwpt/x-ujf  -snxfufuyx  TO    vovptvov. 
Zfv.j3j£.  ^.      ^  he   great  critic,   to  whom  we  have 
often  had  recourfe,  gives  a  general  definition  of  per- 
fpicuity which  exhibits  a  full  view  of  it  when  applied 
to  all  fubjeifts.     A<a(p<zvff  Jf  Xfyu  o  {$•»  pi-j  ofl*Tov,  ou 
x«6   auto  $t  ogzrov  ux  aTrAaf  tnrtiv9  aAAa  of  xXXorciov 
Xgupot.      I7ff»  xJ'^PC*    |3*^»  (3-   *($•  £•      That  vivid 
reprefentation   (fo  different  from  the  perfpicuity   of 
philofophy)   which   diftinguiflieth   the   poet    and  the 
orator,  and  which  may  be  faid  to  conllitute  this  cha- 
racter in  their  fpheres,  is  included  in  this  definition. 
The  medium  by  which  it  is  obtained,  is  language  pro- 
perly fele&ed. 

perly 


Obfirvations  on  Compq/ition.          85 

perly  in  his  general  eflimate,  that  in  order 
clearly  to  comprehend  its  ufe  and  to  dif- 
cover  the  method  of  obtaining  it,  we  mall 
felect  fuch  of  his  thoughts  as  are  con- 
nected moft  nearly  with  the  plan  of  this 
eflay.  "  Perfpicuity  of  difcourfe  is  con- 
"  flituted  by  the  union  of  purity  or  fim- 
"  plicity,  and  accuracy.  The  firft  of 
"  thefe  (he  obferves)  includes  all  the  forms 
u  of  eloquence  he  had  formerly  treated 
"  of; — Sentiment,  the  manner  of  difcuffing 
"  a  fubjecl:,  expreflion,  &c.  But  accuracy, 
"  toxemia  (as  he  calls  it),  relates  principally 
*c  to  the  fecond  of  thefe ; — the  method  in 
-"  which  a  fubjedt  is  treated.  Thofe  fen- 
(l  timents  or  propofitions,  which  may  be 
"  denominated  pure,  are  fuck  as  either 
"  are  or  feem  to  be  common  to  all  in  ge- 
"  neral,  and  to  have  nothing  in  them  con- 
"  cealed  or  abftracled."" — Of  thefe  he  pro^ 
duceth  examples. 

Purity  is  here  taken  in  its  moft  enlarged 
fenfe,  as  diftinguifhing  the  fentiment  as 
well  as  the  ftyle  of  Compofition :  and  it  is 
unqueftionably  true,  that  this  character  of 
.the  art  here  treated  of,  is  obtained  in  the 
G  3  greatefl 


86         Philofophical  and  Critical 

greateft  perfection  by  him,  who  not  only 
treats  in  fuch  a  manner  of  common  iub- 
jedts  as  to  render  his  fentiments  univer- 
fally  intelligible,  but  who  has  the  art  of 
explaining  intricate  theories  fo  clearly  as 
to  make  every  idea  appear  obvious  and 
familiar.  This  moft  probably  is  our  au- 
thor's meaning  *.  He  proceeds  to  fay, 
that  "  the  method  of  treating  a  fubjed: 
"  has  the  neareft  affinity  to  that  purity 
"  which  has  been  explained.  A  difcourfe 
"  is  diftinguifhed  by  both,  when  the  au- 
"  thor  plainly  relates  a  fact;  and  pro- 
"  ceeding  to  fpeak  of  fome  truth  nakedly 
"  laid  open,  introduceth  no  foreign  cir- 
"  cumftance  into  his  narration  *f.  By 

foreign 

*  Should  we  fuppofe  him  to  have  meant  that  purity 
is  inconfiftent  with  abftraftion  or  fubtlety  of  ideas, 
the  obfervation  would  not  be  juft.  Perfpicuity  relates 
not  to  the  nature  of  objects,  but  to  the  drefs  in  which 
thefe  are  pourtrayed.  It  obtains  when  objects  of 
whatever  kind  are  diftinctiy  placed  before  the  mind; 
and  it  is  violated  when  thefe  are  detailed  inaccurately. 
The  objects  themfelves  are  of  no  confequence. 

~j~    Za£v»£»*u   rotvuv   AOJ/J*   sroict   EvxcHitot.  xxi  xa- 
e    KA0APO2     xfv    Ao.of   tt.7roi.vi 


TOI;  ZTocirYAfVOt;,  cvvoict,  /xiow,  Afn,  xaj  TCI; 


Qbfervations  on  Compofition.          87 

foreign  circumftances  here,  are  meant  fuch 
as  are  forced  in  unnaturally  without  being 
related  to  the  principal  fubject.     An  hete- 
rogeneous combination  of  this  kind  ren- 
ders a  difcourfe  inexplicable,  and  is  indeed 
incompatible  both  with  juflnefs  of  fenti- 
ment,  and  with  perfpicuity  of  expreflion. 
That  we  may  do  juftice  to  this  important 
branch  of  our   prefent  enquiry,  we  mail 
confider  perfpicuity  as  a  character  of  juft 
Composition  —  as  difcovered  in  the  general 
difpofition  of  any  fubject  whatever,  par- 
ticularly of  one  that  is  comprehenfive  and 
complicated  :—  as  appearing  with  peculiar 
propriety  in   abfiracted  philofophical  dif- 
quifition  :  —  and  as  characterising,  in  a  fenfe 
higher  and  more  animated  than  the  for- 
mer, the  moft  perfect  productions  of  poetry 
and  eloquence. 


on    v.oivy.1 


.      EPMOFEN.    TZffii  lAEIiN    TC^U. 

04  I.  We 


88         Philofophical  and  Critical 

I.  We  have  in  a  preceding  part  of  this 
efiay,  endeavoured  to  explain  at  confider- 
able  length  the  ufe  of  method  in  general, 
and  to  take  a  view  of  the  underjtanding 
as  wholly  occupying  this  extenfive  pro- 
vince.    In  the  prefent,   beyond  all  other 
employments,  judgment   may  evince   the 
clearnefs  or  obfcurity  of  its  original  con- 
ceptions.   It  hath  been  formerly  obferved, 
that  in  every  fpecies  of  Compoiltion,  with- 
out exception,  a  method  either  concealed 
or  obvious  is  always  carried  on,  and  that 
while  another  faculty  may  fuperintend  the 
execution  diftinguifhed  by   no   regularity 
of  procedure ;  this  in  every  rational  mind 
maintains  a  certain  harmony  and  propor- 
tion, or  attempts  to  maintain  thefe,  dif- 
ficult as  it  fometimes  is  to  obferve  its  ope- 
rations. 

The  general  plan  of  a  work  is  faid  to 
be  perfpicuous  when  it  is  fuch  as  fully 
comprehends  the  fubjec~l  to  be  treated  of; 
and  when  the  fubordinate  parts  though 
having  each  its  proper  tendency  to  pro- 
mote an  ultimate  purpofe,  yet  coincide  not 

in 


Obfervations  on  Ccmpofition.          89 

in  fuch  a  manner  as  to  render  the  dif- 
pofition  perplexed,  but  are  placed  pre- 
cifely  in  the  moft  natural  arrangement. 
When  an  author  takes  a  large  compafs  in 
his  work,  and  propofeth  to  include  in  it 
a  very  diyerfified  feries  of  objects,  it  be- 
comes neceffary  to  form  a  certain  general 
and  methodifed  eftimate  of  the  whole,  of 
whofe  fitnefs  and  comprehenfion  the  reader 
may  pronounce  without  having  entered 
into  minute  inveftigation.  It  is,  however, 
an  high  recommendation  to  a  performance 
in  many  inftances,  that  the  method  is  con- 
cealed (when  materials  lefs  diverfified  pre- 
fent  themfelves)  and  that  it  opens  gra- 
dually with  new  light  upon  the  mind,  as 
a  reader  is  led  in  this  manner  imper- 
ceptibly and  agreeably  from  one  ftep  to 
another,  and  never  comprehends  the  full 
procefs  of  reafoning  until  he  arrives  at  the 
end  of  it.  Nor  in  the  conduct  of  an  ex- 
tenfive  plan  is  perfpicuity  violated  by  the 
ufe  of  digrejffums,  even  though  we  may  be 
unable  at  firft  to  perceive  in  thefe  the  moft 
diftant  relation  to  the  point  in  view. 
When  an  author  difentangles  himfelf 

agreeably 


90         P hilofophical  and  Critical 

agreeably  from  a  little  embarrafTment  of 
this  nature  (as  it  may  be  judged),  and 
either  elucidates  his  argument,  or  renders 
it  entertaining,  or  accomplifheth  both  ends 
at  once  by  this  medium,  we  juftly  form  a 
favourable  opinion  of  his  judgment ;  and 
the  fentiment  is  imprefTed  on  memory 
more  powerfully  in  proportion  as  its  illuf- 
tration  was  unexpected, — Let  us  try  an 
example. 

In  the  noble  dialogue  on  the  immortality 
of  the  foul,  entitled  Phedon,  Socrates,  after 
having  endeavoured  to  prove  his  point  by 
arguments  drawn  from  the  doctrine  of 
contraries  giving  rife  to  each  other*,  and 
after  having  likewife  attempted  to  view  the 
foul  in  its  fuppofed  ftate  of  pre-exiftence  f, 

*  His  argument  is  this.  All  things  (fays  he)  are 
produced  by  their  contraries.  Beauty,  for  inftance, 
is  oppofite  to  deformity,  juftice  to  injuflice.  What  is 
called  lefs,  muft  have  been  reduced  to  that  ftate  from 
greater  magnitude : — fwiftnefs  in  the  fame  manner 
arifeth  from  debility,  and  ftrength  from  weaknefs. 
Now  if  every  thing  arifeth  thus  from  its  contrary, — 
what,  fays  Socrates  to  his  friends,  does  life  give  rife 
to? — Death.  What  then  muft  death  breed? — Un* 
queflionably — Life.  3>ou$.  T/ATJ^A.  »t.  if. 

f  Id.  T/xry*.  MJ.  &C. 

at 


Olfervatlons  on  Compofition.         91 

at  laft  comes  to  ihow  that  it  is  an  imma- 

terial fubftance.     He  illuftrates  this  doc- 

trine,   as   ufual,    by  comparifon.     "  The 

"  real  eflence  of  things  (fays  he)  equality, 

"  beauty,  &c.  while  external  objects  are 

"  conftantly    varying,     is     any     change 

"  wrought  upon  thefe  ?  —  There  is  none, 

"  his   friends    reply.      What    then,    fays 

"  the  philofopher,  fhall  we  pronounce  of 

"  beautiful  objects,  as  men,  horfes,  gar- 

"  ments,    &c.    are  thefe   oppofite  to  the 

"  former  in  this  fenfe,  that  by  no  method 

"  whatever  can  they  be  kept  in  their  ori- 

"  ginal  ftate  ?  —  Thefe,  it  is  anfwered,  are 

*'  always  fluctuating.  —  Of  thofe  two  then 

"  (refumes  Socrates,  after  having  reafoned 

"  at   length   on  the  fubjecl)   which  does 

"  the  foul  feem  moft  to  refemble,  the  di- 

"  vine,   or  the   mortal  ;—  the   perifhable, 

"  or  the  immutable  ?  —  The  mind,  fay  his 

"  friends,   we  mull   acknowledge  refem- 

"  bles    what    is    unchangeable,    and   our 

"  body  what  is  mortal  *."  —  By  the  little 

circum- 

^   AUTJJ  tj  OTSIA    »;j  Aoj/ov    SiSepiy    rov    «vat   xai 


xatrot 


92         Phihjbphical  and  Critical 

circumlocution  employed  here,  Socrates* 
meaning  appears  perfectly  obvious,  and 
his  reafoning  at  the  fame  time  is  ftrength- 
ened  and  elucidated.  Another  beautiful 
ftroke  of  the  fame  kind  the  reader  will 
find  in  the  note  *. 

Though 

xotroe,  T«UT«  »i  aAAor'  aAAa:?  ;  «UTO  TO  ISON,  auro  TO 
KAAON,  avTO  Exarov  o  ffi  TO  ON,  prwori  jU£Ta£oAti»  xat 
ijj/Tivouy  fvjiyfrai.  —  liirauTwf,  £(^»j,  avajooj,  o  Kf£>;?, 
xa;  xara  rot  uvra  £%iut'  TI  <?£  TUV  sro/Auv  xaAwv  oicv 


p^*i>    r>  crav  TOUVOSI/TIOV 
«AA»jAoK    xdtirOTi   ug 

f  »7Tf  Jl',    VXJIXU;  X2T3C    T«'JT*   fflV  ;     OuTWJ    #U     f  y 

c  KtSr,f  «Ji?roT£  fcxrauTaf  f^a.  —  Kaj  xara  rauTa,  ay 
•croTipov  <roi  Joxa  Ojtx.o(ov  TW  0EIH  £ivat,  xat  Ts-ortpov 
TW  0NHTH  J  —  AnAaJ?},  w  IwxpaT£j  OTI  n  f*£«  ^FTXH 
TO  &  ZflMA  TM  0NHTO.  IIAAT. 


T/XT)jl*.    Xf.    XU, 

*  When  Simmias  and  Cebes,  in  the  fame  dialogue, 
have  propofed  fuch  arguments  againft  the  immortality 
of  the  foul  as  fhggered  all  the  hearers,  and  appeared 
to  overthrow  all  that  Socrates  had  advanced,  we  are 
told  he  kept  filence  for  fome  time,  and  obferving  the 
impreflaon  made  upon  his  audience,  prepared  them  to 
expeft  that  he  would  clear  up  their  doubts  by  a  little 
piece  of  conduft  adapted  with  admirable  propriety  to 
the  occafion.  Inftead  of  making  any  direct  anfwer  to 
the  objections,  ftroking  Phedon's  head,  who  fat  by 

him, 


Obf creations  on   Compojltlon.          93 

Though  however,  circumftances  appa- 
rently digreffive  are  thus  advantageous  in 
general  to  perfpicuity,  yet  in  conducting 
the  plan  of  a  work,  an  author  ought  to 
avoid  the  fault  of  extending  thefe  to  any 
difproportioned  length.  When  this  is  the 
cafe,  we  neceflarily  either  lofe  fight  of  the 

him,    and  playing  with  the  ringlets  of  his  hair,— 
"  To-morrow  perhaps,  faid  he,  Phedon,  you  will  poll 
"  away  thefe  beautiful  locks. — It  will  probably  be  fo, 
"  replied  he.     Not,  faid  Socrates,   if  you  take  my 
"  advice. — Why? — To-day  both  you  and  I  will  per- 
tf  form  this  office  upon  ourfelves>  if  our  argument  is 
"  indeed  loft  without  hope  of  recovery."     By  this 
beautiful  digreflion  (referring  to  the  Argives,  who  cut 
their  hair  and  made  a  vow  not  to  let  it  grow  until 
they  had  conquered  the  Spartans)  he  at  the  fame  time 
teacheth  his  hearers  not  to  be  daunted  by  the  plau- 
fibility  of  objections,  however  ftrong,  at  fir  ft  view, 
until  thefe  have  been  fcanned  deliberately ;  and  re- 
lieves the  mind,  fatigued  with  attention,  to  abftracted 
reafoning,  and  requiring  a  paufe  to  return  to  it  with 
alacrity.      The   fubject   is  here   likewife   introduced 
with  great  advantage,  as  it  comes  in  fome  meafure 
unexpectedly ;  and  before  the  philofopher  fpeaks,  we 
conceive  him  equal  to  the  folution  we  defire  from 
him.     Circumftances  of  this  kind,  happily  introduced 
and  propeily  conducted,  indicate  great  knowledge  of 
human  nature,  and  a  difcernment  well  adapted  to  the 
purpofes  that  ought  to   be  accomplished    by  philo- 
fophical  refearch. 

original 


94         Philofophical  and  Critical 

original  defign,  or  purfue  it  with  difficulty; 
and  a  performance  in  which  the  thoughts 
taken  feparately  may  be  clearly  exprefled, 
will  appear  as  a  whole  to  be  compofed  of 
broken  and  detached  parts  without  fym- 
metry   or    coherence.      In  the    fphere  of 
Compofition,  as  in  that  of  converfation,  a 
man  who  rambles  in  his  narration  or  in 
his  reafoning,  without  keeping  fome  prin- 
cipal object  clofely  and  invariably  in  his 
view    is  juftly  cenfured,    as   deficient   in 
clearnefs  of  intellectual  perception,  and  as 
{hooting    without   any    determinate    aim. 
As,  therefore,  to  take  in,  and  to  range  in 
perfpicuous  order,  the  various  parts  of  a 
complicated  fubje£l  demands  comprehen- 
fion,  fo  to  purfue  this  order  clearly,  when 
once  eftablilhed,  through  all  its  branches,  a 
power  is  requifite  of  fixing  the  intellectual 
eye  upon  fucceflive  objects  fo  fteadily,  as 
that  the  more  may  never  prevent  us  from 
doing  juftice  to  the  lefs  important;   and 
that  from  impatience  to  arrive  at  a  fa- 
vourite topic,  we  may  not  hurry  too  lightly 
over  fuch  as  convey  not,  when  contemp- 
lated, fo  high  a  degree  of  pleafure.     The 

firft 


Obfervatwns  on  Compo/ition.         95 

firft  of  thcfe  powers  Cannot  be  carried  by 
any  application  beyond  certain  limits,  ex- 
tended or  contracted  according  to  the  ori- 
ginal ftrength  or  debility  of  the  faculties 
of  the  mind : — the  other  may  be  exerted 
by  any  man  of  moderate  underftanding, 
who  has  refolution  to  fix  his  thought,  as 
he  may  do  the  external  organ  of  fight, 
upon  any  object  whatever,  until  he  gains 
an  habit  of  viewing  it  deliberately,  and  of 
delineating  it  with  prechion. 

A  feries  of  objects  thus  paffing  fuc- 
ceffively  in  review  before  the  mind,  will 
by  thefe  means  be  ranged  in  perfpicuous 
order,  and  as  in  a  family  managed  with 
well-regulated  ceconomy,  where  attention 
not  diilracted  by  many  promifcuous  em- 
ployments, is  beftowed  on  each  at  the 
proper  feafon ;  fo  here  the  parts  will  ftand 
together  by  this  fleady  recollection,  in 
fuch  difpofition  as  to  give  an  air  of  con- 
fiftency  and  proportion  to  the  whole. 
When  the  firft  draught  of  a  work  is  com- 
pleted in  this  manner,  and  the  principal 
parts  Sketched  out,  the  inferior  members 
fall  naturally  into  their  places,  each  occu- 


96         Phllofophlcal  and  Critical 

pying  that  to  which  it  is  beft  adapted. 
Nothing  therefore,  further  remains  to 
render  a  difcourfe  perfpicuous  in  every 
fenfe  of  that  expreffion,  than  that  the  lan- 
guage fhould  ftand  in  the  fame  relation  to 
the  fentiments  which  thefe  laft  maintain 
reciprocally  to  each  other.  This  likewife 
will  follow  in  a  great  meafure,  as  a  con- 
fequence  from  the  principles  here  efta- 
bliihed.  A  man  is  feldom  at  a  lofs  to 
convey  ideas  clearly  to  others,  which  he 
diitinctly  apprehends  himfelf.  When  we 
are  at  a  lofs  for  words  upon  any  occafion 
to  render  our  meaning  explicit,  this  em- 
barrafTment  generally  arifeth  from  fome 
defective  view  of  our  fubjed:,  or  from  fome 
combination  of  fimilar  ideas,  which  we 
cannot  eafily  difcriminate.  Let  a  man 
thoroughly  comprehend,  and  be  deeply 
interefted  in  any  bufinefs;  he  will  then 
exprcfs  himfelf  with  energy  and  fluency. 
His  language  however  inaccurate,  will 
have  ftrong  iignificance,  and  he  will  im- 
part to  others  thofe  fenfations  with  viva- 
city, which  have  made  a  forcible  and  per- 
manent impreiiion  on  himfelf. 

II.  The 


Ohferuations  on  Compofitlon.        97 

II.  The  perfpicuity  here  recommended, 
though  it  is  an  eflential  character  of  Gom- 
pofition,   without  which  no  fpecies  of  it 
can  be  either  entertaining  or  inftructive, 
yet  ought  in  no  cafe  to  be  ftudied  with 
clofer  attention,  than  when  the  mind  in- 
veftigates  remote  and  abftracted  propofi- 
tions.     It   is   exceedingly   difficult,   when 
we  attempt  to  carry  to  its  utmoft  limits 
the    power  by  which    that  point   is  per- 
ceived, where  truth  and  falfhood  are  firft 
difunited;  to  dillinguifh  from  each  other 
objects  almoft  perfectly  fimilar  fo  nicely, 
as  that  plaufible  may  not  be  fubdituted  in 
place  of  eflential  difference ;  and  apparent 
be  received  as  real  information.     We  may 
judge   of  truth   and   error  as  of  empires 
whofe  boundaries  are  not  accurately  fpe- 
cified  : — when  we  have  made  conliderable 
progrefs  in  the  precincts  of  the  laft  with- 
out intention,  we  may  fufpect  ourfelves  to 
have  wandered  from  the  right  path,  and 
may  attempt  to  regain  it.     But  while  this 
deviation  is  a  matter  of  uncertainty,  re- 
flection only  ferves  to  augment  our  em- 
barraflment,  and  we  can  form  no  juft  and 
VOL.  II.  H  fatif- 


98  Philofophical  and  Critical 

fatisfaclory  conclufion.  Thus  it  is  too 
often  with  intellectual  refearch,  when  car- 
ried beyond  the  limits  which  perfpicuous 
inveftigation  would  preicribe.  Whether 
this  practice  of  perplexing  what  we  mean 
to  elucidate,  arifeth  from  the  defire  of  eila- 
blifhing  juit  principles  upon  the  moft  folid 
foundation,  from  the  hope  of  fubduing 
difficulty  by  perfeverence,  or  (what  is 
moft  common)  from  the  vanity  of  build- 
ing new  theories,  and  of  exploding  former 
fyftems  of  belief,  merely  perhaps  becaufe 
thefe  have  had  univerfal  influence ; — from 
whichever  of  thefe  caufes  derived,  it  is 
certain,  that  the  underftanding  is  here 
made  the  dupe  of  the  paffions  in  many 
inftances,  by  whofe  influence  men  having 
been  perfuaded  to  overleap  the  bounds 
affigned  to  the  refearches  of  reafon,  have 
involved  themfelves  in  the  inextricable 
labyrinth  of  error. 

In  order  to  avoid  being  mifled  in  this 
manner,  a  man  who  is  felicitous  to  know 
how  far  his  fentiments  are  juft,  and  to 
render  thefe  perfpicuous,  ought  to  try 
whether  his  ideas  will  ftand  the  teft  of 

com- 


Uyervaftonjf  oh  Compo/ition.        99 

comparifon,  and  of  illuftration  particularly 
from  external  objects.  With  regard  to 
the  laft,  whatever  falls  under  the  cogni-* 
zance  of  the  fenfes  (fuppofing  thefe  to  be 
unimpaired)  is  expofed  in  a  light  abun- 
dantly confpicuous.  Every  eye  can  dif- 
tinguifh  with  eafe  perfect  fymmetry  from 
vifible  difproportion,  and  conveys  to  the 
mind  that  fenfation  of  pleafure  or  pain 
which  each  is  calculated  univerfally  to  ex- 
cite. A  fentiment,  therefore,  a  propo- 
fition,  or  a  diftinction  that  can  receive 
illuftration  by  an  exact  comparifon  with 
fuch  an  object,  and  ftill  more  with  fuch  a 
feries,  we  may  pronounce,  without  hefita- 
tion,  to  have  been  diftinctly  comprehended; 
Of  thefe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  to  which 
no  example  can  be  brought  perfectly  to 
correfpond ;  which  demands  a  certain  pe- 
culiarity of  phrafe,  or  is  founded  wholly 
in  fome  ambiguous  and  unexceptionable 
epithet;  ought  to  be  fufpected  as  either 
having  no  real  exiftence,  or*  if  it  have,  as 
not  being  thoroughly  underftood. 

When  a  truth  is  indeed  either  felf-evi- 

dent,   or  is  clearly  derived  from  certain 

H  2  general 


jco         Philofophical  and  Critical 

general    principles,    examples   are   fuper- 
fluous,^md  can  anfvver  no  purpofe.    When 
again  the  former  is  of  fuch  a  nature  as  to 
exclude  direct   comparifon  with   external 
objects,  fome  real,  though  diftant  point  of 
refemblance    may   be    felected ;    or    fome 
mode    of  illuftration,  drawn  from   other 
fources,  carried  on  which,  may  be  adapted 
to  mow  it  in  the  happieft  point  of  view. 
But  whatever  purpofe  an  author  may  pro- 
pofe  to  accomplifh,  that  of  inftru£tion  is 
at  an  end  as  foon  as  his  principles  will 
no  longer  bear  to  be  enforced -in  this  man- 
ner, or  are  underftood  fo  defectively  that 
it  is  not  attempted. 

Thefe  general  obfervations  on  the  per- 
fpicuity  of  philofophical  fentiment,  will 
affift  us  in  forming  fome  judgment  of  the 
mode  of  expreflion  that  is  beft  adapted  to 
convey  it.  On  this  branch  of  our  fubjecl: 
it  is  indeed  impoflible  to  lay  down  par- 
ticular rules ;  becaufe  whatever  method  a 
writer  may  purfue,  he  will  always  fail  of 
rendering  that  clear  to  his  readers  which 
is  not  fully  and  diftinctly  comprehended 
by  himfelf.  As  the  firft  ftep,  therefore,  to 

acquire 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       101 

acquire  this  happy  .characteriftic  of  Com- 
pofition,  an  author  muft  be  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  nature  and  quality  of 
his  materials,  which  he  will  thus  know  in 
what  manner  to  digeft.  When  this  im- 
portant part  of  his  work  is  over,  like  an 
able  artift,  whofe  tools  are  prepared  and 
at  hand,  he  will  proceed  to  put  each  to 
that  ufe  for  which  it  was  originally  fitted. 
To  drop  the  metaphor  here,  the  author 
ought  to  confider  in  what  drefs  thoughts 
following  each  other  fucceffi  vely  in  the 
mind,  require  to  be  pourtrayed  with  the 
faireft  profpecl:  of  being  univerfally  intel- 
ligible *.  To  thofe  who  are  not  internally 
blind,  there  is  a  language  that  will  fet  off 
fentiment,  even  in  the  moft  abftracted  en- 
quiry, to  great  advantage,  in  the  lame 
manner  as  there  is  a  colour  or  fafhion 
fuited  with  propriety  to  every  complexion. 
In  general,  this  may  be  faid  to  lie  in  that 

*  This  is  agreeable  to  Quintilian's  clear  and  accu- 
rate account  of  tne  manner  in  which  Compofition  is 
carried  on.  "  Paulatim  res  facilius  fe  oftendent, 
verba  refpondebunt ;  compofitio  fequetur.  Cun<fta 
ut  in  familia  bene  inftituta  in  oiBcio  erunt." 

H  3  fimpli- 


102         Phihfophical  and  Critical 

fimplicity  which  though  confident  with 
flrength,  fublimity,  pathos,  and  elegance, 
yet  preferves  always  the  juft  medium  be- 
twixt abundance  and  defect  *. 

But  as  in  the  more  abftracted  difqui-? 
fitions  of  philofophy,  obfcurity  is  the  fault 
of  all  others  to  be  moft  feduloufly  avoided, 
and  perfpicuity  the  characteriftic  to  be 
principally  ftudied,  we  fhall  here  lay  down 
a  few  rules  by  an  exact  obfervation  of 
which  the  attainment  of  this  important 
purpofe  may  be  facilitated. 

i.  An  author  ought  then  particularly  to 
confider,  as  foon  as  he  enters  upon  a  work 
of  this  kind,  by  what  means  a  feries  of 
thought,  naturally  cold  and  uninterefting, 
may  be  rendered  as  agreeable  as  poflible  ; 
and  by  what  method  of  procedure  an  im- 
preffiori  may  be  made  mofl  fuccefsfully  on 
that  intellectual  power  to  which  his  dif- 
courfe  is  principally  addrefled.  Before  a 
theory,  recommended  by  its  novelty  as 
well  as  truth,  can  be  thoroughly  efta- 
blifhed,  an  author,  however  diftinguifhed 


p.  23. 


Cbfervations  on  Compofition.       10? 

by  originality,  will  find  that  many  known 
truths  muft  be  repeated,  becaufe  the 
greateft  difcoveries,  when  fearched  to  the 
bottom,  arife  wholly  from  principles  uni- 
verially  acknowledged,  combined  in  fuch 
a  manner  as  may  lead  to  fome  unexpected 
conclufion. — Of  thefe  even  the  moft  fu- 
perficial  may  appear  with  fome  meafure 
of  figniiicance,  when  the  words  or  colour 
rnoft  juitly  appropriated  to  it  are  happily 
felected.  When  again  this  propriety  is 
not  attended  to  as  much  in  the  expreffion 
of  obvious  as  of  abftracled  ideas,  the  con-*- 
nedion  is  loft,  at  leaft  to  many  readers ; 
and  a  performance  in  which  thefe  laft 
may  be  clearly  explained,  will  thus  be 
chargeable  upon  the  whole  with  obfcurity, 
The  writer,  therefore,  mould  always  re-^ 
member,  that  whatever  may  be  his  own 
character,  thole  of  his  readers  are  greatly 
diverfifiedf  When  his  purpofe  is  only  to 
give  information  to  the  underftanding, 
this  faculty  will  point  out  to  him  the  ne- 
ceflity  of  attending  to  thofe  which  guard 
(if  that  expreffion  may  be  ufed)  the  ave- 
nues that  lead  to  it.  For  this  purpofe  he 
H  4  will 


104.         Philosophical  and  Critical 

will  attend  as  clofely  as  poffible,  not  only 
to  the  ftrain  of  his  compofition  m  general, 
but  to  that  peculiar  expreffion  which  the 
parts,  .taken   feparately,   demand  as  moft 
fuitable.     Thus  he  will  fometimes  (as  his 
judgment  may  direct)  ftudy  eafe  and  ele- 
gance of  phrafe ;   at  others,  a  ftyle  more 
forcible  and   animated :   a  part  will  here 
require    a    little   heightening    when    the 
thought  is  remote,  or  the  argumentation 
protraded  ;  and  by  thus  varying  his  com- 
pofition judicioufly,  as  his  fubj eel:  becomes 
diverfified,  he  will  obtain  the 'end  of  ren- 
dering his  fentiments  intelligible,  and  their 
impreflion  permanent. 

2.  As  a  means  ftill  further  to  promote 
perfpicuity   in  .that   kind   of   difquifition 
where  this  acquirement  is  at  the  fame  time 
moft  expedient  and  difficult,  a  man  of  un- 
derftanding  will  find  it  neceiTary  to  make 
life,  as  much  as  poffible,  of  fuch  words  as 
are  moft  obvious  and   univerfally  under- 
ftood.     In  the  prefent  cafe,  fuch  a  man 
will  be  careful  as  much  of  rendering -his 
fentiments  obvious  and  pleafmg,  as  in  an- 
x>ther  he  would  be  of  his  external  appear- 
ance. 


Obferuations  on  Compofitlon.       105 

ance.     He  whofe  afpe6t  is  not  inviting, 
endeavours   naturally    to   compenfate    for 
this  inconvenience  by  the  fmile  of  com- 
plaifance,  elegance  of  drefs,  and  infmuating 
manners.     We  would  judge  ftrangely  of 
him,  if  inftead  of  attempting  thus  to  pal- 
liate circumftances  that  create  difguft,  we 
fhould  find  him,  on  the  contrary,  ftudioufly 
heightening  it  by  a  deportment  diftant  and 
gloomy  as  his  countenance.     It  is  in  the 
fame   manner  wholly  improper  to  clothe 
proportions,  not  eafily  comprehended,  in 
words  which,  though  familiar  to  fome  ears, 
are  unintelligible   to  others;  becaufe  ob- 
fcurity  is  the  confequence  of  this  practice 
in  many  inftances,  when  there  is  other- 
wife  no  perplexity  either  in  the  difpofition, 
or  language  of  a  performance ;  and  readers 
are  difcouraged  from  engaging  in  a  pur- 
fuit    by   this   circumfcance,   which    might 
otherwife  have  been  followed   both  with 
pleafure  and  information. 

"  What  then  ! — Is  the  philofopher,  the 
"  man  of  fcience,  exalted  far  above  the 
"  level  of  his  kind  by  ftudy,  capacity,  and 
"  inveftigation ; — is  he  required  to  debafe 

the 


io6         Phtlofophical  and  Critical 

"  the  noble  ft  of  all  acquifitions,  by  the  uie 
of  inelegant  and  vulgar  phrafeology  ! 
Ought  not  fentiments  calculated  only 
for  \htfewy  to  be  exprefied  in  words 
fuited  to  their  dignity,  without  regard 
to  thofe  for  whom  they  are  not  calcu- 

"  lated  *  !"  —  Odi  prophanum  vulgus  & 

arceo, 

*  In  very  early  ages  it  feems  to  have  been  the  prac- 
tice of  philosophers  to  conceal  their  tenets  from  the 
cognizance  of  the  vulgar.  Hence  the  -/Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics, faid  to  have  been  invented  by  Hermes 
Trifmegiftus,  came  to  be  ufed  as  expreffive  of  certain 
myfterious  do£trines.  Thefe,  as  divine  truths,  (ac- 
cording to  a  maxim  of  Hippocrates)  were  only  to  be 
communicated  to  men  employed  in  facred  offices. 
Pythagoras  (the  firft  man  who  aflumed  the  name  of 
philofopher,  vide  Cicer.  Tufcul.  Queft.  lib.  v.  c.  3.  & 
Diogen.  Laert.  in  proem.)  divided  his  difciples  into 
two  clafles,  the  initiated,  and  the  prophane  or  unin- 
ilructed,  and  to  thefe  he  adopted  his  method  of  teach- 
ing. To  the  former  his  principles  were  explained  in 
the  cleared  manner.  To  the  latter,  fymbols  and  oenig- 
inas  weie  made  ufe  of.  The  celebrated  maxim, 


recorded  by  Jamblichus,  and  the  filence  en- 
joined to  his  difciples,  that  they  might  learn  to  know 
its  importance,  were  probably  defigned  by  this  cele- 
brated philofopher  to  inftruct  his  followers  in  the 
duty  of  maintaining  impenetrable  fecrecy  with  regard 
to  certain  uiyfteries,  and  of  digefting  properly  thofe 

truths 


Obfervatlons  on  Compofithn.       107 

arceo,  is  the  language  of  this  apoftrophe, 
To  thofe  who  ufe  it,  we  would  obferve, 

that 


truths  which  were  to  form  the  fubjeds  of  their  in- 
ftructions.  That  Pythagoras  never  propofed  to  keep 
up  this  ftyle  of  obfcurity  upon  all  occafions,  muft  be 
obvious  from  the  effe&s  which  his  do£trines  are  faid 
to  have  produced  upon  almoft  all  clafles  of  mankind. 
When  he  travelled  through  Italy,  we  are  informed  by 
one  author,  that  he  made  many  good  as  well  as  learned 
men,  two  in  particular  (Zeleucus  and  Charondas) 
eminent  lawgivers.  Diogen.  Laert.  lib.  viii.  By  an- 
other, that  he  civilized  nations,  reftored  liberty  to 
cities,  converted  thoufands  at  once  to  his  philofophy, 
and  even  prevailed  on  women  to  give  up  fome  part  of 
their  ornaments.  Porphyr.  Juftin.  lib.  xx.  c.  4.  This 
conduct  difcovers  knowledge  of  mankind  in  a  very 
high  degree,  and  is  a  proof  that  Pythagoras  meant 
not  to  fcreen  his  philofophical  tenets  behind  the  veil  of 
myftery.  The  language  he  ufed  muft  have  been  per- 
fedtly  obvious,  and  levelled  to  all  capacities,  when  it 
produced  fuch  effects.  The  ancients  in  general,  we 
may  obferve,  had  reafon  in  the  early  ages  of  fcience 
to  affect  a  myfterious  air  upon  fome  occafions,  as  from 
reverence  to  their  perfons,  men  were  thus  induced  to 
hold  their  doctrines  in  fuperior  eftimation.  Ignorance 
(which  is  fome  fenfe  became  here  the  mother  of  in- 
ftruftion,  as  (he  is  faid  to  have  been  of  devotion},  ren- 
dered the  vulgar  credulous  with  regard  to  any  pre- 
tenfions  of  men  whofe  knowledge  produced  the  hap- 
pieft  confequcnces  on  fociety.  Thus  the  barbarous 
Romans  were  civilized  by  Numa,  becaufe  they  be- 
lieved his  laws  to  have  been  dictated  by  a  divine 

Being. 


io8         Philofopbical  and  Critical 

that  there  is  a  juft  medium  betwixt  af- 
fected pomp,  and  real  meannefs  of  expref- 
flon,  as  much  as  there  is  of  drefs  betwixt 
the  tinfel  of  a  beau,  and  the  rags  of  a 
beggar.  This  medium,  in  the  prefent  cafe, 
lies  in  ftudying  an  eafy,  natural,  unforced 
expreffion,  whofe  ftrength  ought  to  be 
proportioned  to  that  of  the  thought;  and 
in  which  thofe  founding  epithets  that  may 
have  propriety  and  fignificance  upon  other 
occafions,  ought  rarely,  if  ever,  to  be  ad- 
mitted. 

3.  The  laft  rule  we  mail  here  lay  down 
for  the  attainment  of  perfpicuity  in  this 
province  of  fcience,  is  that  an  author 
ought  to  avoid  in  it,  as  much  as  poflible, 
running  into  tedious  and  protradted  pe- 
riods. There  are,  indeed,  cafes  in  which 
a  full  and  modulated  fentence  produceth  a, 
very  finking  effecT: ;  and  it  is,  no  doubt, 

Being.  The  legiflator  appeared  with  fuitable  dignity, 
and  his  inflitutions  were  received  with  reverence. 
The  vanity  of  mankind  was  likewife  artfully  flattered 
by  this  conduct,  as  each  man  believed  the  leader  to 
furpafs  himfelf,  not  by  fuperior  abilities,  but  by  the 
capricious  favour  of  a  divinity. 

poflible 


Qbfefvatlons  en  Compofition.       109 

poffible  to  conduct  it,  when  confifting  of 
many  members,  and   including  great  va- 
riety of  objects*  to  a  clofe  without  violating 
perfpicuous  order.     Thus  in  the  conclu- 
fion  of  an   eloquent  difcourfe,   in  which 
fome  point  of  importance  hath  been  pfefled 
home  upon  the  mind,  and  different  topics 
felected  for  this  purpofe,  it  is  often  highly 
proper  to  fum  up   fuch  as   have  greateft 
energy  in    a  well  conducted   climax,  as 
after    having   been    feparately   illuftrated, 
their  combined  influence  accomplimeth  an 
interefting  purpofe.   Upon  other  occafions, 
the  end  either  of  perfuafion  or  of  convic- 
tion  is   gained  more  effectually  by  enu- 
merating feveral  diftinct  motives  or  argu- 
ments at  once,  than  by  any  other  expe- 
dient ;  becaufe  the  mind  can  feel  an  effect 
from  all  acting  with  united  energy,  and 
concentrating  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it) 
their  force  in  one  point ;  which  confidered 
apart  from  each  other,  thefe  could  never 
have  produced.     This  happens  when  col- 
lateral   evidences   and   incidental   circum- 
ftances  occur  in  a  difcourfe,  whofe  fignifi- 
cance  arifeth  from  their  being  contemplated 

in 


110         PhUofophical  and  Critical 

in  union.  But  in  the  inftance  here  pre-* 
fented  to  us,  reflexion  will  immediately 
convince  us,  that  fuch  a  procedure  13 
neither  neceflary  nor  proper.  When  fe- 
veral  arguments  or  motives  of  conduct  are 
placejd  in  one  point  of  view,  their  influence 
obvioufly  depends  on  their  being  univer- 
fally  underftood.  Each  therefore,  being 
comprehended  as  foon  as  it  is  mentioned, 
the  mind  proceeds  without  interruption  in 
its  career,  feeling  at  laft  the  full  effect, 
which  all  taken  together  are  intended  to 
produce  *.  But  a  fentiment  whofe  truth 

we 

*  No  writer,  either  ancient  or  modern,  underftood 
more  thoroughly  the  force  of  both  the  methods  of  per- 
fuafion  and  conviction  mentioned  here,  than  the  illuf- 
trious  Roman  orator  and  philofopher.  When  Afri- 
canus  (in  his  fublime  vifion  of  that  great  leader)  informs 
his  defcendant  of  the  immortality  of  the  foul,  he  puts 
together  feveral  circumftances,  whofe  impreffion  is 
ftrong  from  being  placed  before  the  mind  in  one  view. 
"  Tu  vero  enitere,  &  fie  habeto.  Te  non  efie  mor- 
talem,  fed  corpus  hoc.  Nee  enim  Tu  is  es  quem  forma 
ifta  declarat,  fed  Mens  cujufque  is  eft  quifque,  &c. 
Deum  te  igitur  fcito  efle:  fiquidem  Deus  eft  qui  viget, 
qui  fentit,  qui  meminit,  qui  praevidet,  qui  tarn  regit 
&  moderatur  &  movet  id  corpus  cui  praepoGtus  eft 
quam  hunc  mundum  princeps  ille  Deus ',  &  ut  mun- 

dum 


Obfervations  on  Compofitionl      \\\ 

we  do  not  immediately  perceive,  and  far 
more  a  fucceflion  of  thefe  whofe  conneo 


dum  ex  quadam  parte  mortalem,  ipfe  Deus  seternus, 
fie  fragile  corpus  animus  fempiternus  movet."  Somn. 
Scipion.  He  pafleth  over,  as  incidental  circumflances, 
the  principal  events  of  the  life  of  Scipio,  to  whom  he 
addrefled  himfelf,  that  he  might  haften  to  the  moft 
momcntuous  of  all. — There  is  great  propriety  in  this 
conduct.  The  illuftrious  actions  of  Scipio,  placed 
here  in  one  group,  prepare  us  for  the  laft  fcene,  which 
otherwife  would  have  made  no  adequate  impreflion. 
"  Quum  autem  Carthaginem  deleveris,  triumphum 
egeris,  Cenforque  fueris,  &  obieris  Leg'atus  -<£gyptiim, 
Syriam,  Afiam,  Grseciam ;  deligere  iterum  abfens 
conful  bellumque  maximum  conficies,  Numantiam 
exfcindes.  Sed  quum  eris  curru  in  Capitolium  in- 
ve£lus  offender  Remi>ublicam9  &c.  Hie  tu  Africane 
oftendas  opportebit  patrise,  lumen  animi,  ingenii,  con- 
ciliique  tui."  Ibid. — When,  again,  he  enters  into 
clofe  reafoning,  his  ftyle  is  indeed  clear  and  forcible, 
but  concife  at  the  fame  time,  and  diverted  of  all  fuper- 
fluity. — "  Quod  femper  movetur  zternum  eft.  Quod 
autem  motum  affert  alicui  quodque  ipfum  agitatur 
aliumie,  quando  finem  habet  motus,  vivendi  finem 
habeat  necefTe  eft.  ^olum  igitur  quod  fefe  movet, 
quia  nunquam  deferitur  a  fe  nunquam  ne  moveri  qui- 
dem  definit.  Q^inetiam  cxteris  quae  moventur  hie 
fons,  hoc  principium  eft  movendi.  Principio  autem 
nulla  eft  origo.  Nam  ex  principio  oriuntur  omnia. 
Ipfuni  autem  nulla  ex  re  oriri  poteft.  Non  enim  eflet 
hoc  principium  quod  gigneretur  aliunde.  Quod  fi 
nunquam  oritur,  nee  occidit  quidem  unquam."  Jbid. 

tion, 


II 2          Philofophical  and  Critical 

tion,  though  clofe,  is  unfolded  with  diffi- 
fulty,  muft  be  explained  with  precifion, 
and  the  embarraflment  of  protracted  pe- 
riods ought  to  be  avoided  when  it  requires 
attention  to  purfue  the  thread  of  a  fubjecl: 
carried  on  in  few  words,  and  with  fimple 
illuftrations.  While  an  author  goes  for- 
ward in  this  accurate  manner,  adapting 
his  expreffion  and  images  with  exact  pro- 
priety to  their  objeds,  he  can  never  be 
in  hazard  of  extending  his  refearches  be- 
yond the  province  affigned  to  reafon ;  and 
his  diftindlions,  however  fubtle,  will  have 
that  real  (not  nominal)  truth,  which  a 
reader  of  difcernment  will  comprehend 
with  fatisfaclion. 

III.  The  fubjedt  of  this  fedion  as  far 
as  we  have  yet  purfued  it,  charaderifeth 
the  fpheres  of  philofophy  and  hiftory. 
When  we  apply  it  to  poetry  and  eloquence 
the  word  is  of  higher  import,  and  includes 
that  lively  painting  which  gives  peculiar 
energy  to  every  idea,  and  greatly  heightens 
its  impreffion.  We  enter  by  this  means 
not  only  into  the  meaning,  but  into  the 
fpirit  of  an  author,  and  become  fpedators 

of 


Obfervatiom  on  Compo/itioh.       iij 

of  the  fcenes  that  are  prefented  to  iis: 
This  is,  indeed,  the  capital  excellence  of 
thole  branches  of  Compofition  which  are 
ultimately  addrefled  either  to  the  paffions 
or  the  imagination;  Of  thefe  (in  moft 
cafes)  the  moft  diverfified^  and  perhaps 
the  moll  difficult  tafk  is  afligned  to  the 
orator.  It  is  his  bufmefs  to  unite  perfpU 
cuous  reafoning  with  animated  and  beau-* 
tiful  defcriptiori.  Without  the  former, 
the  principal  purpofe  of  his  art  muft  re- 
main unaccomplifhed,  and  without  the* 
latter,  the  particular  application  of  his  afJ- 
guments  can  neither  penetrate  the  heaftj 
nor  operate  on  the  conduct.  When  Quin- 
tilian  denominates  perfpicuity  the  capital 
excellence  of  an  orator,  he  muft  have  un- 
derftood  the  phrafe  in  the  fenfe  here  af- 
figned  to  it*  He  would  not  have  called 
that  character  of  the  flyle  of  Gompofition 
the  principal  one,  which-  he  reprefents  as 
in  the  power  of  every  mad  writer  of  mean 
parts,  who  recommends  his  performance 
by  this  quality,  when  he  can  do  fo  by  no1 
other.  By  fuch  an  affertion  he  would 
have  debafed  an  art  which  he  juftly  ex-* 
VOL*  II.  I  plains 


U4         P  hilofophical  and  Critical 

plains  as  one  of  the  nobleft  to  which  the 
mind  of  man  is  adequate.  It  is  therefore 
evident,  that  this  author  takes  the  term 
Perfpicuity  here  in  its  moft  enlarged  mean- 
ing. He  underftands  by  it,  that  ENAPFEIA, 
as  the  Greeks  call  it,  that  emphatical  and 
animated  expreflion,  by  which  an  accom- 
plifhed  orator,  fpeaking  to  the  heart  of 
man,  obtains  the  perfection  of  his  art. 

In  the  province  of  ethical  or  didactic 
poetry,  where  lefs  ornament  is  required 
than  in  any  other,  this  vivid  reprefentation 
is  highly  ufeful,  as  it  imprefleth  a  thought 
at  the  fame  time  upon  the  power  of  ima- 
gination, and  that  of  remembrance.  Here 
however,  that  it  may  accomplim  this  pur- 
pofe,  the  imagery  muft  be  juft  and  per- 
fectly appropriated. — "  Honourable  age 
(fays  the  author  of  the  Wifdom  of  Solo- 
mon) is  not  that  which  confifteth  of  a 
number  of  years,  neither  is  meafured  by 
length  of  days.  But  ivifdom  is  the  grey 
hairs  to  man,  and  an  unfpotted  life  is  old 
age"  This  juft  and  inftructive  obferva- 
tion  acquires  a  light,  and  an  expreflion 
ineffably  ftriking  from  the  colours  here 

caft 


Obfervations  on  Compofltion. 

caft  on  it  which  cannot  efcape  a  reader  of 
the  leafl  fenfibility.  To  fay  merely  that 
the  author's  language  is  perfpicuous,  in  the 
common  fenfe  of  that  epithet,  would  be 
a  reprefentation  of  it  extremely  inadequate. 
It  is  pi&urefque  in  an  high  degree;  and 
we  obferve  a  fentiment  in  its  full  force 
exprefled  in  very  few  words,  which  might 
have  been  expatiated  upon  to  much  lefs 
purpofe  through  many  a  period. 

The  graces  of  Compofition,  by  whofe 
aid  this  ftriking  reprefentation  is  carried 
on,  are  indifpenfably  requifite  to  cha- 
rafterife  every  other  branch  of  the  poetic 
art.  The  mind  can  never  be  raifed  to  any 
pitch  of  enthufiafm,  unlefs  the  objects  that 
pafs  fuccefiively  before  it  are  not  clearly, 
but  vividly  difplayed  *.  The  paffions 
muft  be  wrought  into  commotion  by  na- 


xa»  TIJ    A 

CTl    p*^1*"*    ^po>     ofj.pa.Tuv 
OUTCO  vcxp    ctvxfytfatroe,   owv  uvrrip  •&»£  aura?    <yiy>vo~ 

TOIf 

r» 

APIITOT.  -GTfp»  nOIHT. 

I  2  tural 


1 1 6          Philofophical  and  Critical 

tural  and  pathetic  exhibitions ;  and  we 
fpeak  to  the  heart  only,  when  circum- 
flances  of  diftrefs  are  fo  particularly  enu- 
merated, and  fo  juflly  painted,  as  that  the 
reader  may  be  led  to  feel  thefe  as  his  own. 
It  is  by  no  means  neceflfary  to  effe&uate 
thefe  purpofes,  that  the  ftyle  of  Conipo- 
iition  fhould  always  be  diftinguifhed  by 
colouring.  Arguments  forcibly  exprefled* 
facts  emphatically  related,  and  appeals  to 
the  under  (landing  or  the  paffions,  drawn 
from  thefe  fources,  and  properly  pointed 
to  operate  on  either,  become  not  only 
clear,  but  highly  interefting,  and  accom- 
plifh  the  ends  to  which  thefe  branches  of 
the  art  are  directed. 

Thefe  general  observations  on  perfpi* 
cuity,  as  it  relates  to  poetry  and  eloquencey 
it  was  proper  to  throw  out  here,  that  we 
might  give  this  fubjed:  its  full  extent.  It 
will  be  conlidered  more  particularly  when 
we  come  to  treat  of  the  two  arts  feparately, 
as  forming  important  fpecies  of  the  fub- 
ject  of  this  effay. 

IV.  From  the  remarks  we  have  made 
bn  perfpicuous  Compofition,  it  will  be 

eafier 


O&firvations  on  Compofition.       1 1 7 

eafier  to  develope  the  caufes  to  which  the  de- 
fect of  this  character  ought  to  be  afcribed. 
Thefe  are  diverfified  according  to  the  tafte 
and  complexion  of  the  writer.    Some  men, 
who   poflefs   a  comprehenfive  and  pene- 
trating judgment,    without    an    adequate 
proportion  of  imagination,  beftow  fo  much 
attention  on  the  fentiment  of  a  perform- 
ance that  they  are  fatistied  when  the  ex- 
preflion  is  rendered  intelligible  to  them- 
felves.    The  human  mind  is  furely  viewed 
by  fuch  perfons  in  a  very  defective  light, 
and  we  may  pronounce  that  underftand- 
ing,    however    compreheniive,    to    have 
formed  a  partial  eftimate  in  this  inftance, 
which  appears  to  have  judged  of  all  others 
as  correfponding  exactly  to  its  own  iland- 
ard.     An   author   ought  therefore   to   re- 
member, that  few  readers  are  capable  of 
entering  as  much  into  the  fpirit  of  a  work  as 
the  writer  himfelf,  and  that  of  thofe  who 
are  capable,  flill  fewer   will  fit  down   to 
read   merely   for  inftruction,   when  their 
attention  is  not  kept  awake  by  the  charm 
of  variety.     This,  indeed,  fometimes  pro- 
ceeds from  the  defect  of  imagination,  and 
I  -2  fome- 

ij 


Ii8         Philofophicai  and  Critical 

fometimes  from  not  having  attended  to  its 
real  value  and  importance  in  the  fphere  of 
Compofition. 

An  extreme  of  any  kind  is  always  per- 
nicious, and    by  running  from   one   into 
another  a  man  often  falls  into  that  very 
error  which  he  moft  feduloufly  ftudied  to 
avoid.     Oppofite  caufes  produce,  in  this 
inftance,   the  fame  confequence.    As  the 
former  of  thefe  feem  to  require  that  every 
reader  fhould  pofiefs  as  great  a  fhare  of 
judgment,  and  fhould  beftow  as  much  at- 
tention on  their  writings  as  they  have  done 
themfelves,  the  latter,  by  taking  a  courfe 
dire&ly  contrary,  demand  of  their  readers 
acutenefs,  difcernment,   aad  the  quickeft 
fenfibility.    Authors  diftinguifhed  by  exu- 
berance of  imagination,  become  often  ob- 
fcure  by  giving  too  much  fcope  to  it,  as 
they  are  either  hurried  by  it  into  digref- 
fions,  whofe  connection  with  the  principal 
fubjecT:  the   reader  may  not  be   difpofed, 
perhaps  may  not  be  capable  of  tracing  with 
accuracy ;  or  as  the  natural  proportions  of 
an  object  are  concealed  by  the  luxury  of 
its  colour.     Thefe  are  faults  into  which 

the 


Obfervations  on  Compofitkn.        JIG 

the  greateft  geniufes  are  fometimes  be- 
trayed *. 

Another  fet  of  writers  fall  into  obfcu- 
rity  by  an  affectation  of  concifenefs. 

ISrevis  efie  laboro, 

Obfcurus  fio.  HOR. 

It  is  equally  injudicious  to  croud  thoughts 
together  too  clofely,  as  it  is  to  lengthen 
out  a  few  into  great  compafs  by  verbofe 
expreflion,  and  tedious  declamation.  By 
the  firft  method,  a  general  air  of  obfcurity 
is  caft  upon  a  work,  even  when  particular 
objects  may  be  difHnctly  exhibited,  juil  as 
a  confufed  idea  is  excited  by  a  multitude 
of  people  ftanding  clofely  together,  among 
whom  however  the  individuals  are  ftill 
diftinct  from  each  other,  and  only  require 
to  be  placed  at  fome  diftance.  This  fault 
as  inconfiftent  with  fimple,  as  well  as  with 
perfpicuous  compoiition,  we  have  treated 
of  and  exemplified  fo  particularly  in  a 

*  See  this  fubjeft  explained  more  particularly, 
vol.  i.  It  is  illuftrated  at  large,  with  regard  to  its 
effects  on  Competition,  by  an  application  to  the  Odes 
of  Pindar,  in  the  author's  iiliay  on  Lyric  Poetry, 
Let.  ii.  p.  in.  octavo  edit. 

I  4  Pre- 


Philofophical  and  Critical 

preceding  fejftion,  as  to  reader  an  enlarge-? 
ment  acre  unnecefiary  *. 

The  laft,  and  indeed  the  moft  common 
fource  of  obfcurity  in  Competition,  is  the 
ambition  of  attempting  to  perform  more 
than  we  are  able,  and  fixing  on  a  fubjecl: 
the  parts   of  which  we  cannot   range   in 
any  juft  difpofition. 
Sumite  materiam  veftris  qtti  ftribitis  oequam 
Viribus,  &  verfate  diu  quid  ferre  recufent, 
Quid  valtant  humeri.     Cui  letta  potenter  erit  res 
Nee  facundia  deferet  hunc,  nequc  lucidus  ordo.   HOR, 

An  author  who  hath  paid  no  proper  atten- 
tion to  this  rule,  muft  neceflarily  be  in- 
volved in  inextricable  difficulties,  and  hjs 
thoughts  muft  be  vague,  inaccurate,  and 
undigefted.  Many  fentiments  rifing  un- 
formed while  the  mind  takes  a  view  of 
forne  comprehenfive  theme,  without  cool 
recollection  its  views  are  apt  to  be  dif- 
tracl:ed,  and  without  compafs  inadequate. 
Like  the  difcourfes  of  which  Cicero  com- 
plains among  his  contemporaries,  "  no- 
"  thing  in  this  cafe  will  occupy  its  proper 
"  place.  Senfe  will  be  loft  amidft  the 

*  Sea.  i. 


Observations  on  Compofitkn.       121 

**  multitude  of  words,  and  that  which 
*'  ought  to  have  conveyed  light  to  the 
*•  mind,  will  only  involve  it  in  obfcurity 
"  or  darknefs  *."  He  therefore,  upon 
the  whole,  who  would  write  with  per- 
fpicuity,  after  having  methodifed  his  fub- 
ject,  ought  to  avoid  making  ufe  either  of 
fuperfluous,  uncommon,  or  ambiguous  ex- 
preffions.  To  obtain  this  character  his 
digreffions  rnuft  be  natural,  (particularly 
in  the  higher  fpecies  of  Compofition)  his. 
allufions  apt,  his  characters  marked  with 
{lifcriminating  peculiarities,  and  his  illuf- 
trations  fitted  with  e^ad.  conformity  to 
their  objects. 

*  "  Res  fim ulac  Fufius  aut  vefter  s?qualis  Pom- 
ponius  agere  c.nepit  non  aeque  quid  dicant  nil!  admo- 
dum  attend!  intelligo.  .  Ita  confuia  eft  oratio,  ita  per- 
^urbata  nihil  ut  fit  primum,  nihi!  ut  fecundum  tanta- 
que  infolentia  ac  turba  verborum  ut  oratio  quse  lumen 
adhibere  rebus  debet  ea  oblcuritatem  &  tenebras  afte- 
rat,  ut  quodammodo  ipfi  fibi  in  dicendo  obftreperc 
yideantur."  De  Orat.  lib.  iii.  cap.  13. 


SEC- 


122         Philofophical  and  Critical 

SECTION     IV. 

Of  elegant  Competition. 

"P*  LEG  ANT  Compofition  is  a  phrafe  ap- 
plie.d  to  writings  in  which  we  fup- 
pofe  that  there  are  certain  peculiar  graces 
diftinguiming  the  fentiments,  and  orna- 
menting the  language  in  which  thefe  are 
conveyed.  Under  thefe  two  heads  there- 
fore, we  fhall  confider  this  character  of 
the  art  here  treated  of,  that  thofe  readers 
xvho  have  ufed  this  expreflion  without 
comprehending  thoroughly  its  import, 
may  be  able  to  diftinguifh  real  from 
apparent  elegance,  and  may  appropriate  to 
the  word  fome  determinate  meaning. 

I.  It  will  be  acknowledged  by  every 
man  who  beftows  any  reflection  on  this 
fubjecT:,  that  the  word  Elegance,  to  what- 
ever objects  it  may  be  applied,  ftands  in 
oppofition  to  rufticity,  and  rudenefs. 
Whatever  is  fordid,  mean,  and  vulgar, 
either  in  a  man's  opinion,  deportment,  or 
even  drefs,  denominates  inelegance  when 
prevailing  in  any  obvious  degree;  but 

when 


Obfervatlons  on  Compofition.        123 

when  predominating  confpicuoufly  excites 
difguft  and  averfion.  As  the  term  elegant 
therefore  excludes,  in  all  fenfes,  the  coarfe 
and  difagreeable  from  entering  into  its 
objects,  fo  the  word  refinement  (a  phrafe 
often  ufed  without  much  propriety)  de- 
notes the  higheft  proportion  of  this  cha- 
racter, in  which  fo  little  alloy  is  to  be  ob- 
ferved  as  ferves  to  heighten,  rather  than 
debafe  the  object,  and  throws  additional 
luftre  on  what  is  truly  beautiful,  by  the 
foil  that  is  oppofed  to  it. 

Sentiments  either  in  a  feries  of  clofe 
reafoning,  or  in  loofer  mifcellaneous  ob- 
fervation,  may  be  faid  to  have  elegance 
when  thefe  are  fo  artfully  ranged,  and  fo 
happily  expofed,  as  to  be  mown  always  iri 
the  mod  pleafmg  point  of  view.  In  a 
difcourfe  levelled  againft  the  abfurdities, 
the  vices,  or  the  follies  of  mankind,  the 
ultimate  purpofe  is  by  no  means  agree- 
able; and  it  is  therefore  neceffary,  that 
prejudices  mould  be  attacked  with  much 
circumfpection  in  order  to  be  effectually 
eradicated.  Opinions  that  are  riveted  by 

time, 


124         Plnlofophical  and  Critical 

time,  and  habits  that  have  been  ftrength- 
ened  by  indulgence,  cannot  be  fuccefsfully 
combated,  unlefs  the  arguments  by  whofe 
ufe  it  is  propofed  to  imprefs   conviclion 
on  the  underftanding,  are  enforced  by  cir- 
cumftances  that  foothe  and  attack  the  ima- 
gination.    In  this   proccfs   it  is  obvious, 
that  one  falfe  ftep  will  overturn  a  whole 
fyftem,  and  will  induce  the  mind  to  rejecl: 
it  as  abfurdity.     Inftead  of  liftening  with 
impartiality  to  the  fpeaker  or  the  writer 
on  fuch  an  occafion,  we  are  difpofed,  on 
the  contrary,  either  to  fearch  out  miftakes 
and  fallacies  in  his  reafoning,  or  to  fup- 
port  our  own  fentiments,   however  irra- 
tional, by  calling  argument  to  the  afliftance 
of  paffion.     For  as  it  is  an  eafy  matter  to 
convince  or  to  deceive  reafon  by  plaufible 
appearances  when   the   paflions  are  once 
interefted  againft  it,  fo  it  is,  on  the  other 
hand,  extremely  difficult  to  gain  the  ap- 
probation of  the  former  of  thefe,  without 
at  the   fame   time  influencing  the   latter. 
Both  can  then  only  be  brought  to  concur 
in  one  fentiment,  when  thoughts  are  com- 
bined 


on  Compojition.       125 

bined  in  fuch  arrangement  as  that  the 
unpleaiing  part  is  call  into  a  {hade,  and 
the  moft  beautiful  fide  is  expofed  to  view. 
Elegance  of  fentiment  muft  diftinguifh 
every  work  in  which  this  purpofe  is  ac- 
complimed.  Gentle  and  iniinuating  elo- 
quence, fleals  into  the  heart  upon  iuch  an 
occafion,  and  difpofeth  us  to  liften  to  the 
perfon  by  whom  we  are  addrefled,  by  efta- 
blifhing  a  prepofleflion  in  his  favour. 

i.  This  purpofe  is  accomplished  in  fome 
cafes,  wheri,  inftead  of  addreiling  roughly 
an  individual,  ftimulated  by  the  impulfe 
of  a  ruling  paffion,  he  is  led,  by  general 
obfervations  apparently  levelled  at  no  par- 
ticular object,  to  fee  the  effects  that  arife 
from  indulging  it.  A  beautiful  example 
of  this  kind  occurs  in  the  Iliad.  When 
the  Creeks  are  juil  returned  difpirited 
from  an  unfuccefsful  battle,  and  their 
leader,  either  as  an  expreflion  of  his  own 
fentiments,  or  as  a  trial  of  theirs,  pro- 
pofeth  to  leave  their  conqueil  uncompleted ; 
Diomed  replies,  with  an  infolence  and  fe- 
rocity deferving  a  fevere  reprimand.  After 
having  accufed  the  prince  of  pufillanimity* 

and 


126          Philofophical  and  Critical 

and  cowardice,  he  profefieth  his  own  de- 
light in  war,  and  his  resolution  to  continue 
himfelf  before  Troy,  though  all  the  other 
Greeks  fhould  defert  it.  Neftor  with  great 
propriety  attempts  to  cool  this  ardour. 
But  inftead  of  dire&ly  reprimanding  a 
young  hero,  fired  by  a  fuppofed  injury, 
and  impatient  of  reproof,  he,  on  the  con- 
trary, elegantly  compliments  him  on  the 
freedom  and  boldriefs  of  his  addrefs  ;  and 
after  having  thus  put  him  in  good  hu- 
mour, artfully  throws  in  the  following  re- 
flection. 


ffi*   EX5IV9? 

Og  zsohtpov  tpotTXi,  tiriSrifjLioVi  oxpuofvro?.     IAIAA.  I. 

Curs'd  is  the  man,  and  void  of  law  and  right, 

Unworthy  property,  unworthy  light, 

Unfit  for  public  rule,  or  private  care, 

That  wretch,  that  monfter,  who  delights  in  war.  Po  PE. 

There  is  great  delicacy  in  this  conduct,  as 
the  paffions  by  which  Diomed  would  have 
been  blinded  are  laid  afleep  ;  and  his  rea- 
fon  is  at  leifure  to  perceive  and  to  apply 
in  its  full  force  the  fucceeding  obferva- 
tion.  It  is  from  fuch  inftances  as  thefe, 
that  the  eloquence  of  Neftor,  in  the  Iliad, 

is 


Obfervations  on   Compofition.        127 

is  faid  by  Quintilian  to  be  character! fed 
by  a  fweetnefs  inexpreflibly  pleafmg  *. 

In  the  fine  addrefs  of  Csefar  to  the  Ro- 
man fenate,  whom  he  would  have  per- 
fuaded  to  pardon  Cataline,  we  meet  with 
a  fimilar  inftance  of  fentiment  elegantly 
applied,  not  merely  to  influence  the  con- 
dud:  of  an  individual,  but  to  regulate  the 
determination   of  an  illuftrious  affembly. 
On  the  part  of  Cxfar  great  addrefs  was 
here  peculiarly  requifite,  becaufe  the  caufe 
in  which  he  fpoke  was  univerfally  odious, 
and  becaufe  he  himfelf  was  fufpected  to 
have    been    engaged    in    the    confpiracy. 
.  Kno\ving,  therefore,  that  his  audience  was 
equally  prejudiced  againft  the  confpirators 
and  their  advocate,  he  introduced!  his  dif- 
courfe  with  fome  general  obfervations  de- 
figned  to  ftrike  at  thefe  prejudices  with- 
out giving  offence  to  individuals. — "  All 
"  men,  fays    he,  confcript    fathers,   who 
"  confult  about  dubious  affairs,  ought  to 
"  judge    of    thefe    with    a   difpaffionate 

*  "  Ex  ore  Neftoris  dixit  dukiorem  meJle  profluere 
fermonem,  qua  certe  dele£latione  nihil  fingi  majus 
poteft."  Lib.  xii.  c.  jo. 

"  temper, 


128         Philofcp/ncal  and  Critical 

41  temper,  uninfluenced  equally  by  angefy 
friendship,  hatred,  or  pity.  The  mind 
perceives  not  truth  eafily  when  theie 
paflions  interfere"  *."  This  introduction 
is  calculated  with  great  propriety  to  make 
every  perfon  turn  his  eyes  inward,  and 
confider  the  ftate  and  impartiality  of  his 
mind.  The  orator  then  proceeds  to  enu- 
merate particular  examples  of  the  miferies 
that  had  arifen  from  the  defect  of  this 
temper;  and  in  the  end  he  applies  the 
whole  with  mafterly  addrefs  to  the  affair 
of  Cataline.  The  crimes  of  the  eonfpi-* 
ratof  s  by  this  conduct  are  artfully  veiled  • 
the  beft  fide  of  the  object  is  only  expoied 
to  the  eye  of  the  fpedator ;  and  thofe  very 
paflions  are  at  laft  powerfully  ftimulated 
in  a  bad  caufe,  whofe  influence  at  firft  was 
fo  profefledly  difclaimed; 

2.  Elegance  of  fentiment  as  it  thus  re-^ 
quifes  in  fome  inftances  what  is  unpleaf- 
ing  to  be  fhaded,  and  what  has  either  real 

*  "  Omnes  homines  P.  C*  qui  de  rebus  dubiis- 
eonfuhant  ab  odio,  amicitia,  ira,  atque  miferlcordia 
vacims  effe  debet.  Haud  facile  animus  verum  prcr* 
videt  ubi  ilia  ofutiunc."  Conjurat.  Catal. 


on  Compofition.       129 

or  apparent  beauty  to  be  fhown  in  all  its 
attractions,  fo  in  others  we  obferve  and 
acknowledge  it  more  obvioufly  to  predo- 
minate, when  in  clofe  argumentation  an 
adverfary  is  confuted  without  having  rea* 
fon  to  feel  that  mortification  which  arifeth 
from  this  circumftance ;  and  whofe  vanity 
is  rendered  fubfervient  to  his  inftrucT:ion> 
by  being  gratified  at  the  time  that  his  rea*- 
foning  is  difproved.  Of  this  addrefs  no 
man  ever  was  a  greater  matter  than  So*- 
crates,  who  puts  it  in  pra&ice  fucceffively 
upon  every  occafion  when  he  is  engaged 
with  men  who  could  not  otherwife  be 
drawn  into  converfation. — When  Euthy- 
phron  acquaints  him,  that  he  had  come  to 
the  Areogapus  to  profecute  his  father  for  - 
murder,  and  attempts  to  jutfify  his  con- 
duct by  telling  fome  childifh  flories  of 
Jupiter's  conduct. to  Saturn;  Socrates,  in- 
ftead  of  laughing  at  his  folly,  applies 
himfelf  to  his  ruling  pafiion,  and  refutes 
his  principles,  while  he  appears  willing  to 
adopt  thofe  as  his  own.  After  having 
founded  the  depth  of  his  antagoniil,  and 
brought  him  to  acknowledge  that  he  be- 
VOL.  II.  K  lieved 


1%O         Philofcpkkal  and  Critical 

lieved  the  Gods  to  differ  often  from  each 
other  in  opinion,  he  thrufts  a  vein  of  re- 
fined irony  into  his  difcourfe,.  and  raifeth 
fcruples  in  the  mind  of  Eutliyphron,  upon 
his  own  principles  \vith  regard  to  the 
juftice  of  his  caufe,  happily  calculated  to 
make  him  deiift  from  the  profecution.  — 
"  Excellent  Euthyphron  (fays  he),  fmce  you 
"  fay  that  the  gods  form  different  judg- 
"  ments  of  fight  and  wrong,  truth  and 
*'  falfhood,  and  act  according  to  thefe 
"  judgments,  you  have  not  yet  explained 
"  to  me  the  nature  of  holinefs  ;  for  I  did 
"  not  afk  you  what  is  at  the  fame  time 
"  facred  and  prophane,  pleafing  to  one 
"  god,  and  difagreeable  to  another:  —  fo 
"  that  it  would  not  be  wonderful  if  you, 
"  by  getting  your  father  punifhed,  mould 
"  do  an  action  agreeable  to  Jupiter,  but  dif- 
44  agreeable  to  Ccelus  and  Saturn  ;  pleafing 
44  to  Vulcan,  but  ofTenfive  to  Juno;  and 
"  judged  of  differently  by  the  other  deities 

"  accordin    to  the  character  of  each  *." 

3.  In 


*    Ovx  dfx.  o   itpopw  onrsxtiMj   u  $*.\MCfO*t.    x 
TXTO   <s  naruv,    o  Tja.vti   TX\>TO»    ov   O<TMV  rt 


Obfervatlons  on  Compofitiw. 

3.  In  many  inftances  likewife,  a  pecu- 
liar degree  of  elegance  is  difcovered  in 
turning  a  thought  (principally  of  the  pa- 
nygirical  kind)  fo  happily  as  may  furprife 
the  reader  into  immediate  approbation. 
This  happens,  moft  commonly,  when  there 
is  an  artful  difpofition  of  circumftances 
concurring  to  throw  light  on  fome  object, 
at  once  agreeable  and  unexpected.  Of  the 
kind  here  mentioned,  is  the  following 
noble  complement  to  Cato,  in  which  the 
poet  ineffably  heightens  his  eulogium  by 
a  previous  enumeration  of  grand  and  ter- 
rible circumftances* 

Jam  nunc  minaci  murmure  cdrnuum 

Perftringis  aures  :  jam  litui  ftrepunt  j 

Jam  fulgor  armorum  fugaces 

Terret  equos,  equitumque  vultus. 

Audire  magnos  jam  videor  duces 

Non  indecoro  pulvere  fordidos  !       - 


a.v 

flft    ft>  E-j6u!ppov  o  cry  vvv  zs-oJiK   TOV 
votv    S"au(uarov    H    TCUTO    Jpuv,   TW  fAtv    Ai»     i 

TW  $i   Kputu   Koti  TU  Oupavw  c^Opov.      Ka» 

trM  JpiAov,  TU  Jf  Hoa  f^Qaov.     Kctt  fin; 
trtpo;    trt^it)  JWvpfen-ai    wfoi  aurou,  xat  f 
raura,   &C.    IIAATnN.   EuOufp.  rp^*.  0. 

K  2  Et 


Philofophical  and  Critical 

Et  cuntta  terrarum  fubatia 

••     >  .  •         J    O  _• 

Pneter  atrccem  antmutn  Colon  is  *  / 

The  concluding  circumftance  here,  every 
reader,  will  allow  to  have  elegant  beauty 
in    its  prefent  connection.      Even    thofe, 
however,  who  are  actuated   by  prejudice 
againft  the  authors   of  Chriftiamty,  will, 
perhaps,   acknowledge  the  apoftle  Paul's 
anfwer  to   king  Agrippa  to   have   merit 
(though  not  precifely  of  the  fame  kind)  ia 
all  refpeds  equal  to  that   of  the  courtly 
Roman  in  the  preceding  inftance. — "  Al- 
"  moft  (fays  the  prince  to  him)  thou  per- 
<c  fuadeft  me  to  be  a  Chriftian."  To  which 
the  apoftle  (ftanding  in  chains  before  his 
throne)  replies :    "  I  would   to  God  that 
"  not  only  thou,  but  alfo  all  that  hear  me 
"  this    day  were    both  almoft  and  alto- 
4t  gether,    fuch    as    I   am, — except    thefe 
*'  bonds"     The  laft  words  here,  as  in  the 
former  example,    are  peculiarly  finking. 
They  give   a  polite   air  to   the  apoftle's 
anfwer,  and  conftitute  what  the  ancients 
denominate  urbanitas,  and  the  verfutum  &: 

*  Hor.  Carmin.  lib.  iv.  ode  i. 

leprde 


O&feritaitons  on  Compojition.       133 

lepide  dictum.  Its  effect  upon  Agrippa 
difcovered  the  propriety  with  which  it  was 
applied  to  him ;  for  he  was  prevented 
from  fetting  his  prifoner  at  liberty  only 
becaufe  he  had  appealed  to  Csefar. 

4.  The  laft  method  we  mall  mention 
here,  of  rendering  fentiment  elegant,  con- 
frfts  in  the  artful  introduction  of  a  prin- 
cipal topic  from  circumftances  whofe  con- 
nection with  it,  though  clofe  and  par- 
ticular, the  mind  does  not  perceive  until  it 
flides  in  as  it  were  imperceptibly,  and  at- 
tracts attention  by  being  carelefsly  repre- 
•fented.  This  appearance  of  the  character 
treated  of  here,  is  rarely  to  be  met  with ; 
and  only  in  works  of  great  ingenuity. — • 
In  Pope's  excellent  Preface  to  his  mifcel- 
laneous  writings,  he  propofeth  to  dif  claim 
many  performances  that  had  been  afcribed 
to  him,  as  unworthy  that  honour,  and  to 
prevent,  if  poffible,  a  repetition  of  this 
abufe.  The  manner  in  which  he  brings 
about  his  purpofe  is  admirable. — "  I  be- 
"  lieve  (fays  he,  fpeaking  of  himfelf)  no 
"  one  qualification  is  fo  likely  to  make  a 
*4  good  writer  as  the  power  of  rejecting 
K  3  "  his 


PhilofofKitat  and  Crlticar 

u  his  own  thoughts,  and  it  mufl  be;  thi$ 
"  (if  any  thing)  that,  can  give  me  a  chance 
"  to.be  on«4,  For  what  I  have  publifhed 
"I  can  only  hope  to  be  pardoned;  but 
"  for  what  I  have  burned,  I  deferve  to  be 
v  praifed.  On  this  account  the  world  is 
"  .under  foifte- obligation  tome,  and  owes 
"  me  the  jujlice  in  return  to  look  upon  no 
"  verfes  QS  mine  that  are  nof  ihjerted  in 
"  -this  collection ."  Here  the  author's  prin- 
cipal end  falls,  as  it  were,  incidentally  into 
his  difcourfe :  no  reader,  without  having 
been  previoufly  acquainted  with  his  purpofe, 
would  expect  it  jLo  be  introduced  here. 
Yet  the  connection  is  natural,  and  we  ap- 
prove at  the  fame  time  of  the  writer's 
judgment  and  addrefs. 

II.  Difficult  as  it  may  appear  from  the 
preceding  obfervations,  for  an  author  to 
be  diftinguimed  by  elegance  of  fentiment, 
yet  even  when  this  point  is  obtained, 
ibmething  further  is  ftill  requifite  to  con- 
flitute  elegant  Compofition,  if  we  include 
under  that  phrafe  all  that  it  ought  to  fug- 
geft.  This  fomething,  fo  necelTary  to  give 
the  Jail  heightening  to  this  character,  is 

undoubt- 


Qbferv.at_ions  en  Compofitwn.       135 

undoubtedly  an  expreffion  happily  corref-; 
ponding  to  thefe  fentiments,  and  fetting 
off  all  to  the  higheft  advantage.  An  emi- 
nent critic  obferves  of  ftyle  in  general, 
"  that  of  fiich  importance  is  this  fmgle 
"  circumflance,  as  to  have  decided  (in  the 
"  art  of  poetry)  the  fuccefs  of  pieces  de- 
"  fedive  in  material  points,  and  yet  uni— 
"  verfally  admired  on  this  account  only. 
"  He  mentions  as  proofs  of  the  truth  of 
"  this  remark,  the  Cid,  and  the  Death  of 
"  Pompey,  both  works  of  Corneille,  but 
"  greatly  defective  both  in  charader  and 
"  ceconomy.  Thefe,  he  obferves,  are  yet 
"  preferred,,  contrary  to  the  rules  of  the 
"  drama,  to  others  distinguished  by  fu- 
*'  perior  manners,  and  a  plan  regularly 
"  profecuted.- — Why  ? — Becaufe  the  ft  vie 
"  and  the  lentiment  happily  correfpond  in 
"  the  firft  iniiance  : — in  the  laft,  this  af- 
"  finity  is  not  to  be  difcovered.  When 
"  the  heart  therefore  is  touched  by  the 
*'  voice  of  nature,  all  the  critical  argu- 
<4  ments  in  the  world  can  never  per- 
*'  fuade  a  man  to  with-hold  his  appro- 
K  4  "  bation." 


136         Phllofophlcal  and  Critical' 

"  bation  *."  This  approbation  every 
reader  gives  to  a  performance  diftinguifhed 
by  unafFecled  elegance  of  expreflion,  the 
natural  effect  of  which  is  always  to  excite 
a  very  pleafing  fenfation,  even  when  we 
are  inattentive  to  the  caufe. 

Expreffion,  to  whatever  fubject  it  may 
be  applied,  is  faid  to  have  elegance  when 
certain  natural  graces  are  fo  happily  dif- 
pofed  in  it,  as  to  throw  light  on  their  ob- 
jects without  the  glare  of  odentation ;  and 
when  an  eafe,  confident  with  dignity,  is  to 
be  obferved  univerfally  in  the  difpofition 
of  words  fitted  to  the  various  parts  of  a 
fubjecl.     It  is  difHcult,  if  not  impoflible, 
in  mod  cafes  to  give  any  clear  and  appro- 
priated idea  of  this  envied  excellence,  be- 
caufe  it  is  conftituted  by  certain  exquifite 
flrokes,  whofe  influence  is  felt  by  a  reader 
of  fenfibility,    though   he   cannot  refolve 
thefe  into  a  regular  fyftem,  and  account  in 
a  rational  manner  for  the  caufe  of  his  ad- 
miratioin.     They  are  fuch : 

*  See  Du  Bos'  Reflex.  Critique  fur  la  Poef.  &c. 
torn,  i.  chap.  23. 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       137 

Ut  fibi  quivis 

Speret  idem,  fudet  muhum,  fruftraque  laboret 
Aufus  idem.  HOR. 

Let  us,  however,  try  whether  amidft  fo 
many  evanefcent  beauties  ready  to  diflblve 
like  the  fhade  of  Patroclus  into  air  as  foon 
as  we  attempt  to  lay  hold  of  them,  we 
cannot  catch  a  few  of  the  moft  flriking  in 
their  paflage,  and  hold  thefe  up  as  lights 
by  whofe  aid  we  may  diftinguifh  real  from 
affected  elegance  of  expreflion,  in  the  va- 
rious fpheres  of  Compofition. 

In  every  juft  imitation  of  any  original, 
propriety   requires  that  the  peculiar  and 
diftinguifhing  graces,  as  well  as  the  great 
outlines  of  any  figure,  mould  be  tranfpofed 
faithfully  into  a  copy.     When  we  defcribe 
for  inftance,  a  landfcape,  it  is  obvious  that 
we  are  pleafed  in  proportion  as  the  rural 
fcenery    is    fo    naturally   difplayed    as    to 
prefent  objects  in  their  native  and  fimple 
decorations ;    as  the  colours  of  nature  (if 
we   may  thus   exprefs   it)   without  being 
heightened  are  juftly  delineated ;   and  as 
certain  ftriking  features    are  fixed   upon 
happily,  and  are  fet  off  with  graces  which 

give 


138          Philofophical  and  Critical 

give  beauty  to  the  piece.  Elegance  in 
this  imitation,  requires  that  nothing  in  the 
defcription  fhould  be  overwrought;  that 
no  foreign  ornaments  fhould  be  unna- 
turally forced  in ;  that,  in  fhort,  the  words 
ihould  imitate  by  a  certain  carelefs,  but 
happy  difpofition,  the  eafy  negligence  of 
nature  in  the  various  arrangement  and 
attitudes  of  her  objects. 

To  the  fylvan  lodge 

They  came,  that  like  Pomona's  arbour  frr.iLed 
With  flowrets  deck'd  and  fragrant  ftnells  j — but  Eve, 
Undeck'd,  fave  with  herfelf,  more  lovely  fair 
Than  wood-nymph,  or  the  faireft  goddefs  feign'd, 
Stood  to  entertain  her  heav'nly  gueft. 

Raifed  of  grafly  "turf 

Their  table  was,  and  mofiy  feats  had  round 
And  on  her  ample  fquare  from  fide  to  fide 
All  autumn  piled,  though  fpring  and  autumn  here 
Danced  hand  in  hand.  MILTONT. 

Nature  herfelf  appears  to  have  held  the 
pencil  in  painting  this  group  of  beautiful 
figures,  in  which  no  falfe  heightening  or 
improper  imagery  is  admitted;  but  the 
imagination  of  the  poet,  wandering  at  eafe 
over  the  bowers  of  Eden,  adorns  its  def- 
criptions  with  objects  fo  animated  as  to 

diffipate 


Obfervations  on  Compaction.       139 

dimpate  the  languor  arifing  from  infipid 
uniformity,  while  propiiety  takes  place  in 
the  difpofition  as  well  as  choice  of  thefe 
which  the  mind  contemplates  with  pecu- 
liar fatisfaction.  The  whole  is  indeed 
perfectly  fimple,  but  it  muft  be  acknow- 
ledged to  be  elegant  fimplicity. 

We  are  not,  however,  always  to  fuppofe 
that  a  reprefentation  of  the  external  beau- 
ties of  creation,  in  order  to  have  the  height- 
ening of  elegance,  ought  always  to  be  en- 
livened either  with  figures  that  have  real 
life,  or  even  with  an  imitation  of  this  cir- 
cumflance  by  perfonification.  A  defcrip- 
tion  may  have  great  elegance  in  which  the 
objects  of  ftill  life  (as  they  are  called)  ap- 
pear in  a  certain  natural  arrangement, 
when  recommended  by  no  other  character 
than  harmonious  and  appropriated  diction. 
In  the  following  combination  of  paftoral 
beauties  all  is  in  the  higheft  degree  pic- 
turefque,  though  nothing  is  perfonified, 
and  the  ftructure  of  the  period  is  fuch  as 
to  improve  the  effect  of  a  mod  elegant 
aflemblage. 

At 


I4O          Philosophical  and  Critical 

*/       A 

At  fecura  quies,  &  nefcia  fallere  vita 
Dives  opum  variarum  ,  at  latis  otia  fundis, 
Speluncz  vivique  lacus :  at  frigida  tempe, 
Mugitufque  bourn,  mollefque  fub  arbore  fomni 
Non  abfunt.  VIR. 

ExprefTion  acquires  ineffable  elegance 
upon  fome  occafions  from  a  vein  of  ima- 
gery happily  blended  with  the  fentiment, 
and  coalefcing  with  it  in  fuch  a  manner 
as  that  both  muft  fuffer  by  the  flighteft 
tranfpofition.  Such  is  the  character  of 
Sappho,  drawn  by  Horace; 
Spiral  adhuc  Amor, 

Vivuntque  commifli  calores 

•/Eoliae  fidibus  puellae.  Ode  i\.  lib.  4. 

The  image  wrought  here  fo  exquifitely 
into  the  character,  reminds  us  of  the  de- 
licate lhading  in  the  moft  maflerly  draw- 
ings, which  leems  to  die  away  infenfibly 
into  air,  or  fades  by  imperceptible  degrees 
into  the  ground-colour  of  the  piece.  By 
attempting  to  disjoin  thefe,  we  encroach 
upon  fomething  which  we  meant  to  have 
preferved,  and  are  fenfible  that  the  piece 
muft  be  disfigured  by  the  moft  minute 
alteration. 

In 


Olferiiatlons  on  Compcfition.       141 

In  our  remarks  on  elegant  Compofition, 
we   have    endeavoured   to    {how  in   what 
cafes   this  characteriftic   excellence  diftin- 
guifheth  the  fentiment  of  a  performance; 
and    we   have    pointed    out   examples  in 
which  it  is  confpicuous  in  the  thought  and 
expreffion  of  a  work  mutually  reflecting 
light   on   each  other.     In   fome   inftances 
however,  thoughts  that  have  no  peculiar 
merit  of  themfelves,  and  which  in  an  or- 
dinary   drefs    would    have    been   wholly 
overlooked,   become  fignificant  by  being 
expreffed  with  a  certain  natural  eafe  which 
gives  an  air  of  unaffected  elegance  to  the 
whole.     In   this  branch  of  the  character 
here  treated,  we  muft  allow  Anacreon  to 
be  wholly  peculiar  and  inimitable.    When 
this  writer  tells  us,  that  "  he  cares  not  for 
"  Gyges  the  king  of  the  Sardians ;  that 
"  gold  has  no  attractions  for  him ;  that 
"  he  envies  not  tyrants ;  and  that  his  de- 
"  fire  is  to  pour  unguents  on  his  body, 
"  to  crown  himfelf  with  rofes,  and  let  to-* 
"  morrow  provide  for  itfelf ;" — fuch  cir- 
cumftances    in  a   tranHaticn    may  appear 
foreign  and  impertinent.     Yet  in  the  ori- 
ginal 


142          Philofophical  end  Critical 

ginal  that  "  curiofa  felicitas  dicendi,"  that 
happy  choice  and  difpofition  of  words, 
which  it  is  a  vain  attempt  to  imitate,  con- 
fers graces  on  thefe  flight  remarks  which 
render  them  the  objects  of  elegant  enter- 
tainment *. 

**~  In 


^  Oo  jtxoi  [j.iXn 
Tou 


OVOE  (pfiovw 

F.U.OJ    JtAfAfi 


Euo» 


Ou  Zftuf^ov  aiAj*  jtxoi,    &C.    AN  Aft.  fif  Ea'JT. 

The  character  of  this  bard  the  reader  will  find  drawn 
more  particularly,  and  the  elegance  of  his  compofition 
exemplified,  in  the  Eflay  on  Lyric  Poetry,  p.  55,  &c.  — 
The  ingenious  Abbe  du  Bos  has  preferred  a  beautiful 
ode  in  his  Reflections  on  Poetry  and  Painting,  in 
which  a  thought,  as  fimple  as  any  of  the  preceding,  is 
rendered  (hiking  by  the  graces  of  elegant  expreflion. 
It  is  a  piece  of  the  Abbot  Chaulieu,  whofe  purport  is 
only  this,  that  he  would  die  in  the  place  where  he 
was  born.  We  .admire,  however,  the  colour  with 
which  it  is  ornamented.  - 
Fontenay  lieux  delicieux 

Ou  je  vis  d'abord  la  lumiere, 
Bientot  au  tout  de  ma  carricre 
Chez  toi  je  joindrai  mes  ayeux. 

Mufea* 


Obfervations  on  Composition.      143 

In  the  fphere  of  Competition,  as  no 
excellence  whatever  is  more  univerfally 
envied  and  admired  than  that  of  elegance, 
fo  there  is  none  in  every  fenfe  more  dif- 
ficult to  be  acquired.  This  is  obvious, 
from  the  bad  fuccefs  of  many  attempts 
that  have  been  made  to  imitate  writings 
diftinguifhed  by  this  character.  Among 
the  imitators  of  the  manner  of  Anacreon, 
few  have  ever  been  able  to  catch  the  fpirit, 
and  transfufe  the  graces  of  this  original  *. 
Plato  in  the  fame  manner  ftands  unrivalled 
among  Greek  philofophers,  and  Horace 
and  Petronius  among  the  Romans  f.  A 

man 

Mufes,  qui  dans  ce  lieu  champetre 

Avcc  loin  me  f  'ites  nourir, 
Beaux  arbres  qui  m'avez  vu  naitre, 
Bieutot  vous  me  verrez  mourir. — 

Du  Bos.  c.  xxxiii.  v.  I. 

*  Prior,  among  our  own  writers,  feems  to  have  ap- 
proached nearefl  to  this  original.  Some  of  his  pieces 
are  happily  Anacreontic.  Fontaine  is  an  inimitable 
original  himfelf. 

f  Thefe  authors  (the  lafl  particularly)  are  felecled 
here,  bccaufe  elegance  is  their  principal  characleriitic. 
Cicero  has  this  in  common  with  many  other  excel- 
lencies, but  upon  the  whole,  the  "  teres  atque  ro- 
tunJus"  (as  Horace  calls  it)  characfcerifeth  his  copious 

exprelucn 


144          PJiilofophical  and  Critical 

man  muft  have  received  from  nature  a 
power  of  perceiving  certain  exquifite  con* 
neclions,  in  order  to  be  denominated  ele- 
gant in  the  ienfe  affigned  here  to  that 
epithet,  and  a  facility  of  felecling  and  of 
applying  thofe  graces  to  defcription  or 
.fentiment,  that  are  juft  the  moft  fuitable 
and  becoming.  We  muft  make  a  diftinc- 
tion  however  betwixt  thefe  powers,  the 
one  of  which  regards  perception,  and  the 
other  execution.  Though  neither  are  con- 
ferred univerfally,  yet  many  perfons  are 
enabled  by  the  former  to  obferve  and  to 
feel  the  effect  ariflng  from  an  afiemblage 
of  objects  elegantly  decorated,  who  yet 
would  fail  in  an  attempt  to  form  fo  beau- 
tiful a  combination;  becaufe  with  fenfi- 
bility  to  relifh  thefe  beauties  when  pre- 
fented  to  the  mind,  its  powers  may  be  in- 
adequate to  the  tafk  of  creating  them. 
That  energy  of  thought  by  which  the 

expreffion  more  remarkably  than  any  other  fignature, 
and  in  ftudying  a  model  of  elegance  it  is  proper  to 
have  that  prefented  to  us  which  offers  principally  to 
our  view  the  various  forms  of  this  diftinguifliing 
quality. 

moft 


0$firv6tioni  'on  Compojitibn.       145 

moft  appropriated  colouring  is  imme- 
diately applied  to  ideas,  and  the  moft  fuit<- 
able  expreffion  is  felected  with  eafe  to 
render  thefe  univerfally  agreeable,  is  wholly 
diftinct  from  the  power  by  which  we 
judge  of ajuft  or  inadequate  combination; 
the  laft  of  which  extends  no  further  than 
to  enable  the  perfon  pofleffed  of  it  to 
avoid  grofs  defects  in  Compofition,  and  to 
be  character! fed  upon  the  whole  by  nega- 
tive defcription. 

To  deny  (whatever  truths  may  be  in 
thefe  obfervations)  that  an  elegant  tafte 
may  be  improved,  if  not  created,  and  its 
influence  rendered  confpicuous  in  execu- 
tion as  well  as  theory,  by  the  fludy  of 
unexceptionable  models,  would  be  as  ab- 
furd  as  to  deny  that  the  dignity  of  a  good 
mien  may  be  heightened  by  having  fre- 
quented the  beft  company  ;  or  that  the 
expreffion  of  an  amiable  countenance  be- 
comes mere  attractive  by  a  happy  and 
graceful  difpofition  of  fuitable  ornaments. 
Though,  therefore,  we  cannot  fuppofe  in 
the  prefent  cafe,  that  he  whofe  natural 
powers  are  deficient,  will  by  any  procefs 

VOL.  II.  L  of 


146         PhilofopJrical  and  Critical 

of  obfervation  be  enabled  to  execute  with 
mattery,  and  to  throw  out  thofe  graces- 
that  give  elegance  to  Compofition ;  yet> 
by  having  attended  to  the  effect  of  thefe 
in  the  writings  of  others,  he  may  avoid 
the  oppofite  extreme  in  his  own ;  and  in 
the  conduct  of  philoibphical  deduction, 
while  the  arguments  may  carry  conviction 
to  the  underftanding,  the  ftyle  of  an  au- 
thor's compoiition  will  thus  be  often  en- 
tertaining, and  at  no  time  vulgar  or  dif- 
gufting. 

It  ought  always-  to  be  obferved,  that  arc 
exprcffion  unexceptionably  accurate,  if  not 
really  elegant,  may  be  obtained  by  imita- 
tion and  attention  much  more  eafify  than 
the  means  by  which  fintiments  Acquire  this 
character.  The  art  of  turning  a  period 
with  harmony  may  be  learned  with  more 
facility  than  that  of  expofmg  a  thought 
hi  the  happieft  point  of  view,  or  of  ren- 
dering a  feries  of  fentiments  agreeable  by 
a  certain  juft  and  beautiful  difpofition,  be- 
caufe  the  firft  of  thefe  depends  principally 
upon  an  harmonious,  ear ;  whereas  the  lafl 
requires  tafte,  clifcernment,.  and  feniibility. 


Obfervatkns  on  Compojition.       147 

As  to  elegance  likewifc,  confidered  fimply 
with  regard  to  exprefiion,  we  muft  diftin- 
guifh  that  kind  of  it  which  arifeth  from  a 
certain    pleafmg   arrangement  of   words, 
from  that  which  is  obferved  in  the  inven- 
tion,  beauty,   and  difpofition  of  images, 
improving  every  object  by  an  appropriated 
colour,  and  adding  to  a  piece  the  laft  ex- 
quifite  fhading   that  renders  it  complete. 
The  attainment  of  the  firft  of  thefe  pur- 
pofes  depends  in  a  great  meafure  upon  the 
choice    of  proper   models    for   imitation; 
principally  upon  having  made  a  juft  fe~ 
lection   in  very  early  life.     There  is  (as 
the  ftudy  of  works  compofed  at  ages  re- 
mote from  each  other  will  convince  any 
man)   a   certain  mode  of  expreffiun,  by 
which  contemporary  writers  in  one  (everi 
clamcal)  age  may  be  diftinguimed  as  ob- 
vioufly  from  thofe  who  at  a  confiderable 
diftance    have    either   preceded   or   come 
after  them,  as  that  by  which  two  flourim- 
ing  at  the  fame  time  are  known  and  dil* 
criminated.      The    difference   indeed   be- 
comes more  flrikingly  confpicuous,  when 
we  compare  a  polite  with  a  barbarous  age, 
L  2  than 


348         Philofiphical  and  Critical 

than  when  we  judge  from  any  inter- 
mediate periods  *  ;  becaule  this  prefents 
to  us  fuch  a  profpe£t  as  the  fame  face  feen 
in  youth  and  in  old  age.  Time,  which 
at  a  middle  period  would  have  been  ob- 
ferved  to  alter  without  impairing  its  ex- 

*  Longinus,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Aurelian 
and  Zenobia,  compared  with  the  beft  writers  of  the 
age  of  Auguftus,  is  indeed  a  remarkable  exception  to 
the  rule  here  laid  down  i  but  not  only  are  we  to  con- 
fider  this  as  an  inftance  almoft  wholly  fingular,  but 
we  may  afcribe  it  either  to  that  native  fublimity  of 
imagination,  which  (as  we  fhall  fhow  afterwards)  is 
the  character  of  all  others  lead  apt  to  be  impaired  by 
any  external  circumftances  j  or  to  an  happy  fek&ion 
of  models  in  the  firft  ftage  of  life,  which  Longinus 
might  have  been  prompted  to  make  by  his  own  ex- 
quifite  difcernment.     Both  thefe  caufes  probably  con- 
curred to  prevent  this   eminent   critic  from    being 
tainted  by  the  tafte  of  an  age  confiderably  degenerated. 
The  firft  mentioned  is  evidently  confpicuous  in  the 
grandeur  of  his  own  fentiments,  and  in  that  keen  fen- 
fibility  with  which  he  appears  to  have  entered  into 
thofe  of  others : — the  laft  is  obvious  from  the  autho- 
rities quoted  by  him  from  the  beft  ftandards  handed 
down  by  antiquity.     A  writer  converfant  wholly  with 
thefe,  and  fitted  at  the  fame  time  by  nature  to  form 
great  conceptions,  we  might  have  pronounced  fecure 
againft  the  contagion  of  faife  tafte,  and  qualified  to 
tranfpofe  by  imitation  thofe  excellencies  into  his  work, 
whofe  beauty  he  at  the  fame  time  felt  and  developed. 
Milton  is  an  example  of  this  kind. 

preffion, 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        149 

preffion,  will  be  feen  in  this  laft  ftagc  to 
have  made  a  remarkable  change  upon  the 
whole :  but  the  fteps  that  have  led  to  this 
are  real  though  imperceptible,  and  at  any 
confiderable  interval  their  effect  would 
have  been  obvious. 

We  muft,  after  all,  confider  it  at  firft 
view  as  fomewhat  extraordinary  that  men, 
living  at  a  period  however  remote,  who 
might  have  imitated  the  perfect  models  of 
the  Auguftan  age  handed  down  as  patterns, 
mould  yet  have  adopted  the  barbarous  and 
unintelligible  jargon  of  their   own.     But 
this  conduct   ought  principally  to  be  af- 
cribed  to  the  firft  bias  imprinted  on  the 
inind,  and  to  the  writings  with  which  it 
was  converfant.     An  individual,  how  in- 
genious foever,  and  diftinguifhed  by  nature 
with  elegant  tafte,  yet  forming  himfelf  at 
firft  upon  models  lefs  perfect  than  thele 
already  mentioned,  or  carried  away  by  the 
prevailing  character  of  his  age  and  coun- 
try, gradually  falls  into  a  manner  which 
thele  circumftances  contribute  fo  neceffarily 
to    frnim,    different    perhaps    from   that 
L  3  which 


150         Philofophical  and  Critical 

which  nature,  imwarped  by  fafhion  ancj 
prejudice,  would  have  taught  him  to  a£* 
fume.      Elegant   Compofition,   confidered 
as  perfected  by  the  union  of  eafy  language, 
and   of  images   difpofed   with  grace  and 
propriety,    cannot  be  obtained  when  the 
mind  is  ftraitened  in  any  exertion ;  and  ia 
impaired   indifpenfably    by  the    accidents 
here  enumerated.     In  order  therefore,  as 
much  as  poffible,  to  prevent  their  effects, 
the  works  that  are  firft  perufed  by  a  man 
of  genius   at  any  time  whatever,    ought 
to   be   fuch    as    are    univerfally    acknow-r 
ledged  to  be  charadterifed  principally  by 
the    graces   that   conftitute   elegance.     A 
fublime  imagination  will  preferve  its  ori- 
ginal bias,  and  will  throw  out  ftrong  ex- 
amples of  it,   in  whatever  age  the  man 
pofTeffed  of  this  faculty  may  live,  and  by 
whatever  circumftances  (a  total  want  of 
education  excepted)  its  influence  may  be 
counteracted.     This  is  one  of  thofe  vivid 
and  indelible  characters  fo  forcibly  ftamped 
upon   the   mind,    as   to   relift  the    power 
of  caules  by  which  weaker  ones  are  era- 
dicated. 


on  Compojition.        jrt 

•d-icated  *.    The  fame  remark  may  be  made 
of  this  faculty  when  principally  charac- 
ter i  led 

*  Of  the  truth  of  this  obfervation,  the  celebrated 
Oflian  affords  a  diltinguifhed  example  among  our  own 
•countrymen,  as  Dante,  Camoens,  and  Arioflo,  (though 
ilourifhing  indeed  at  later  periods)  exhibit  among  fo- 
reigners. .  The  fpirit  of  Lada,  and  ghofts  of  the  Cal- 
Jedonian  hard  ;  the  machinery  introduced  by  Dante  in 
order  to  give  poignancy  to  his  exquifite  iatire ;  the 
Adamaiter  of  the  Portuguese,  introduced  with  fuch 
grand  and  noble  circumftcnces ;  and  the  various  ima- 
gery thrown  out  with  great  fublimity  of  imagination, 
though  without  much  regularity  by  the  Italian  ; — thefe 
furniih  hvcontefhble  proofs  that  this  great  character  of 
Competition  is  to  be  met  with  univerfaily  in  the  works, 
•of  didinguilhed  geniufes,  in  whatever  age  they  may 
happen  to  live.  It  is  true  that  Ariofto  lived  in  the 
Sixteenth  century,  at  the  time  of  the  refurretlion  of 
letters:  but  as  learning  was  then  only  beginning  to 
emerge  from  the  night  of  Gothic  ignorance,  neither 
his  work,  nor  that  of  Camoens  is  diftinguifbed  by  the 
graces  of  elegant  Composition  ns  a  character!  (lical  ex- 
cellence. Examples  of  fublimc,  and  of  pathetic  de- 
fcription  are  to  be  met  with  univerfaily  in  the  writings 
of  both.  Oluan,  in  the  fame  manner  diflirguifhed  by 
grandeur,  luxury,  .and  exuberance  of  imagination,  was 
converfant  with  no  objects,  and  beheld  no  manners 
from  which  he  might  be  enabled  to  obtain  the  graces 
that  conftitute  elegance.  The  language  in  which  he 
wrote,  (mnfical  as  it  is  faid  to  be),  muft  have  been 
unequal  to  the  exprcfTion  of  degant  fentiment,  (fuch 
as  we  have  had  occafion  to  exemplify)  and  fome  ftroke« 
L  4  of 


152         Thllof opined  and  Critical 

terifed  by  ftrength  and  energy.  Thefe 
laft  are  fo  far  from  requiring  a  clafTical 
age  to  call  them  out  into  action,  that  we 
obferve  them  often  moft  confpicuoufly  pre- 
dominant in  times  of  darknefs  and  bar- 
barifm.  It  is  otherwife  with  the  character 
of  elegance,  which  marks  upon  all  occa- 
fions  the  productions  of  improved  fociety, 
and  is  never  the  capital  ingredient  of  a 
performance  either  compofed  by  an  illi- 
terate author,  or  the  work  of  a  rude  and 
barbarous  age  *.  In  order,  therefore,  ta 

acquire 

of  defcription,  finifhed  with  great  delicacy,  Scattered 
through  his  writings,  and  through  the  writings  of 
others  in  fimilar  circumftances,  are  like  flowers  rifing 
in  a  wildernefs,  whofe  beauty  might  have  been  highly 
improved  by  a  cultivated  foil,  an  happy  expofure,  and 
a  favourable  fun. 

*  In  the  favage  ftate  we  may  expect  to  meet  with 
ftrength  and  vigour  of  thought,  as  well  as  of  expref- 
fion,  particularly  in  the  detail  of  tranfadlions,  becaufe 
the  rougher  paflions  are  in  fuch  a  ftate  taught  to  exert 
themfelves  with  a  certain  defperate  ferocity,  whofe  in- 
fluence appears  In  Compofition.  Accordingly,  in  the 
works  of  the  bards  of  thefe  times  (the  criteria  by 
which  we  can  beft  judge  of  the  tafte  and  manners  of 
an  age)  ftrength  of  expreflion,  and  of  colouring,  is  a 
fignature  more  univerfally  to  be  difcerned,  than  in  the 
more  finiflied  produ&ions  of  our  own.  The  inge- 
nious 


Obfervattons  on  Compofitlon.       jo 

acquire  this  character,  or  at  leaft  to  im- 
prove as  highly  as  poffible  the  propenfity 
of  nature,  a  man  of  genius,  after  having 
gained  a  juft  and  appropriated  idea  of  ele- 
gance, as  relating  both  to  exprefiion  and 
fentiment,  fhould  endeavour,  by  having 
attended  particularly  to  every  appearance 
of  this  excellence,  and  by  attempts  to  imi- 
tate it  in  whatever  manner  it  is  appre- 
hended, to  carry  his  general  obfervations 
into  pradice,  and  transfufe  a  portion  of 
that  fpirit  into  his  own  Compofition, 
whofe  influence  he  hath  marked  fo  juftly 
in  that  of  others. 

nious  Dr.  Blair  has  illuftrated  this  remark  in  his  Dif- 
fertion  on  the  Poems  of  Offian,  by  tranflating  a  Gothic 
poem  preferved  by  Olaus  Wormius,  in  his  work  De 
Literatura  Runica.  "  This  (fays  our  critic,  after 
"  having  prefented  us  with  the  work)  is  fuch  poetry 
"  as  we  might  expect  from  a  barbarous  nation. — It 
"  breathes  a  moft  ferocious  fpirit.  It  is  wild,  harfh, 
"  and  irregular ;  but  at  the  fame  time  animated  and 
"  flrong  ;  the  ftyle  in  the  original  highly  figured  and 
cc  metaphorical."  Blair's  Diflertat.  quar.  edit.  p.  u. 
The  fame  nervous  expreflion  diflinguifheth  the  per- 
formances of  Chaucer  among  our  own  countrymen  ; 
and  for  the  reafon  already  adduced,  will  generally  be 
moft  confpicuous  in  the  productions  of  a  barbarous 
age. 

Let 


154         Philojbphical  and  Critical 

Let  it  be  obferved,  that  we  defire  as  lit- 
tle in  the  prefent,  as  in  any  other  cafe,  a 
man  of  genius  to  bind  himfelf  down  to  a 
fervile  imitation  of  any  model,  however 
beautiful.  Amidft  all  the  objects  that  art 
or  experience  can  affemble  to  promote  in- 
tellectual culture,  the  original  exprejfion  of 
the  mind,  like  the  original  ftamina  of  the 
body,  remains  unalterable,  though  this 
expreffion  will  be  fet  off  by  thefe  to  the 
highcft  advantage,  when  neither  impaired 
by  timidity,  nor  diftorted  by  affectation. 
An  herb  withering  in  the  made,  and  ex- 
panding its  leaves,  or  exhaling  fragrance 
in  the  fun,  prefents  an  image  correfpond- 
ing  to  the  prefent  fubject.  In  both  fitua- 
tions  a  difcerning  eye  will  trace  the  fame 
lineaments,  however  different  their  external 
appearance.  But  in  one  cafe  the  foliage  is 
mrunk  and  contracted ; — in  the  other  its 
colours  are  heightened,  its  foliage  opened; 
and  its  beauty  greatly  improved  by  ex- 
pofure  and  cultivation. 

As  a  principal  means  to  affift  us  in  the 
art  of  rendering  Competition  truly  elegant, 
we  muft  endeavour  to  guard  againfl  errors 

that 


Obfervations  on  Ccmp^tion.        155 

that  carry  the  appearance  of  this  character 
fo  plaufihly   as   not  to   be   eafily  known 
from  reality.    Thus  an  attempt  to  intro- 
duce brilliance  into  Compofition  by  a  cer- 
tain quaintnefs  of  epithet,  and  artful  dif- 
'  potition  of  pretty  images  fubilituted  with 
no  propriety  or  fignificance,  paffeth  upon 
many  readers  for  elegance,  though  really 
incompatible  with  it  at  the  bottom.     An 
imagination  always  looking  out  for  meta- 
phors, and  applying  thefe  without  proper 
direction    or    difcernment,   is   ufually  the 
caufe  of  this  falfe  delicacy.     \Vhen  Ovid 
makes  Laodamia  fay  to  Protefilaus,  who 
was  engaged  in  the  Trojan  war, 
Timeo:  quotiefque  fubit  miferabile  bellum 
More  nivis  lachrymre  fole  madentis  eunt. 
Oft  as  the  wars  tremenduous  fcenes  appear, 
Like  (how  diflblving,  drops  th*  uncc;ifing  tear. 

The  ftrained  allufion  employed  here,  has 
fome  appearance  of  elegance  at  firft  view, 
but  tafte  rejects  it  as  a  prettinefs  indicating 
at  leaft  want  of  attention,  if  not  a  defect 
of  difcernment. 

We  ought  likewife  to  diftinguifh   ele- 
gance, properly  fo  called,  from  purity  or 

chaftity  of  language ;  the  latter  of  which 

regards 


156         Philofophical  and  Critical 

regards  the  conftrudtion  and  propriety  of 
words,  while  the  former  relates  to  the 
graceful  and  harmonious  flructure  of  pe- 
riods. By  the  harmony  of  periods  is  not 
meant  a  long  firing  of  words  rounded  in 
an  elaborate  and  uniform  manner.  This 
end  is  obtained  by  a  natural  and  judicious 
variety,  adapted  properly  to  the  different 
branches  of  a  fubjed,  and  to  that  particular 
kind  of  fentiment  into  which  an  author 
may  happen  to  fall.  It  would  be  an  eafy 
matter  to  enlarge  this  part  of  our  work, 
by  examples  of  falfe  delicacy  in  the  ftyle 
of  Compofition ;  but  as  we  have  already 
conlidered  in  what  manner  elegance  may 
be  difcovered,  either  in  the  fentiment  or 
expreffion  of  a  performance,  and  have  at- 
tempted to  confirm,  by  fuitable  illuftra- 
tions,  our  remarks  on  the  means  that  con- 
ftitute  this  character,  a  further  enlarge- 
ment on  the  defects  of  writers,  otherwife 
eminent,  would  be  at  the  fame  time  dif- 
agreeable  and  unneceflary. 

We  fhall  therefore  difmifs  this  fubject 
when  we  have  juft  obferved  in  general, 
that  however  certain  authors,  from  a  con- 

fcioufnefs 


Observations  on  Compofltlon.       157 

fcioufnefs  perhaps  of  their  own  inability 
to  obtain  the  graces  that  conftitute  elegance 
in  the  art  here  treated  of,  may  affect  to 
defpife  it,  yet  it  is  by  thefe  that  the  human 
heart  is  moft  powerfully  captivated,  and 
confequently  the  end  of  inftruction  moft 
effectually  accomplifhed.  By  a  conduct  of 
this  kind,  a  man  difcovers  his  own  want 
of  underftanding,  which  would  fuggeft  to 
him  that  a  man,  in  whatever  point  of  view 
it  may  appear  to  himfelf,  acquires  fignifi- 
cance  in  proportion  as  the  purpofes  are 
important  to  which  it  may  be  rendered 
fubfervient.  The  politenefs  and  fluency 
of » Petronius,  and  the  iimple  elegance  of 
Anacreon,  make  vices  and  trifles  the 
fources  of  entertainment,  while  a  writer 
who  poffeffed  a  vein  of  fterling  wit,  but 
without  the  power  of  fetting  it  off  with 
this  character  of  Compofition,  is  cenfured 
with  reafon,  and  is  perufed  with  difguft. 

Noftri  proavi  Plautinos  &  numeros,  et 

J^audavere  fales,  nimium  patienter  utrumque, 
Ne  dicam  finite  mirati  ;  fi  modo  ego  &  vos 
Scimus  inurbanum  Jepido  feponere  dido, 
Legitimumque  fonum  digitis  calkmua  &  aure. 

SEC- 


158          Phllofophical  and  Critical 

SECTION     V. 

Of  fublime  Compofition. 

JTMIE  characters  of  juft  Compofitiort, 
whofe  nature  and  ufe  we  have  at- 
tempted to  explain  in  the  preceding  fec- 
tions,  belong  (as  we  have  feen)  indif- 
criminately  to  every  branch  of  the  art 
without  exception ;  and  the  execution  of 
any  performance  muft  be  judged  deficient 
in  which  thefe  are  not  united.  Simplicity, 
perfpicuity,  and  elegance,  we  are  therefore 
to  confider  as  criteria  at  the  fame  time 
univerfal  and  indifpenfable,  in  which  re- 
fpects  they  differ  from  the  ingredient  of 
fublimity,  whofe  influence  extends  prin- 
cipally to  certain  known  fpecies,  and  when 
exerted  in  others  is  a  noble  but  unex- 
pected decoration,  whofe  prefence  excites 
high  approbation,  though  its  abfence 
might  have  been  marked  without  cenfure. 
There  is  likewife  another  circumftance  pe- 
culiar to  the  grand  in  Compofition,  con- 
fidered  as  a  character  of  the  art  by  which 
it  is  diflinguifhed  from  thofe  that  have 

formerly 


Observations  on   Compofitwn.        iro 

formerly   been    enumerated.     It   is,    that 
while  thefe  may  chara£terife  the  expreffion 
of  a  performance  when  there  is  nothing 
ftriking  or  uncommon  in  the  fentiment ; 
and  though  on  that  account  we  may  ex- 
amine feparately  the  thought  or  defcrip- 
tion,  and  the  language  that  conveys  it,  yet 
in  the  article  of  fublimity  thefe  muft  al- 
ways  be  contemplated   together,    and  in 
order  to  conftitute  this  excellence,  there 
muft  be  an  invariable  co-operation  of  both. 
A  work  in  which,  upon  the  whole,  there 
is  nothing   either   new  or  extraordinary, 
when   the  thoughts  are  examined  apart, 
may   yet  be  diftinguimed   by  fimplicity, 
perfpicuity,  and  even  elegance  of  didion : — 
but   an  exalted  idea  naturally  fwells  out 
the  language  to  adequate  emphafis  *  \  and 

when 

*  Longinus,  in  his  enumeration  of  the  fources 
from  which  fublimity  is  derived,  confiders  expreffion 
"  as  a  kind  of  common  ftratum,  or  foundation  for 
"  this  magnificent  fuperftruaure,  which  however 
«'  may  be  deficient  fo  as  to  render  the  whole  of  no- 
«  cited."  n^»  T4/.  T.an^.  H.  But  this  aflertiou 
upon  ftricl  examination,  will  not  perhaps  appear  to 
have  been  clofely  inveftigated.  For  k  is  here  fup- 

pofed 


160         Philofophical  and  Critical 

when  the  latter  (however  founding)  is  un- 
fupported  by  majefty  of  fentiment,  we 
denominate  it  timid  and  bombaft. 

The 

pofed,  that  to  a  mind  pofleffing  all  the  fources  of  fub- 
limity, a  power  may  be  denied  of  clothing  its  ideas  in 
Cgnificant  language.      II^VTroxfj^tij     wtit^   jj«p«ff 
Ti»t?  XOIVK  T«I?  7«;£m   ravratf  iStotis  ttij  iv  ru  Xcytiv 
JvvotfJitWy  rj?  oA&*  ^WfK  »&v.    Ubi  fup.     But  this  is  a 
cafe  rarely,  if  ever,  to  be  met  with.    An  imagination 
filled  with  a  great  idea,  will  adopt  an  exprefiion  as 
naturally  appropriated  to  the  object,  as  a  man  flimu- 
lated  by  the  impulfe  of  any  paflion  finds  words  ex- 
preffive  of  his  feeling.     In  the  firft  inftance  the  mind 
may  labour  with  the  greatnefs'of  fome  vaft  conception, 
and  may  find  it  difficult  to  feleft  words  proportioned 
to  its  fublimity ;  but  ftill  the  thought  will  give  ftrong 
Cgnificance  to  fuch  as  are  fixed  upon,  which,  whether 
adapted  or  not  with  perfect  propriety,  will   receive 
elevation  from  the  fentiment.    It  is  not,   therefore, 
true,  that  when  an  idea  truly  fublime  is  formed,  and 
diftin&ly  comprehended  by  the  mind,  expreffion  can 
be  defective,  fo  as  to  render  it  of  no  efFec\.    But  ad- 
mitting that  a  perfon,  capable  of  thinking  in  this  manner, 
{hould  be  able  to  make  ufe  of  no  words  but  fuch  as 
are  mean  and  wholly  difproportioned,  it  is  obvious, 
that  notwithstanding  this  inconvenience  by  which  an 
alteration  would  be  made  on  the  external  appearance 
of  an  object,  its  intrinfic  value  would  continue  to  be 
the  fame;  and  though  fublimity  is  imperfect  when 
there  ceafeth  to  be  a  proportion  betwixt  the  thought 
and  exprefiion  j  yet  the  former,  far  from  being  ren- 
dered 


Obfervations  oh  Compaction.      161 

The  province  of  the  fublime  in  every 
kind  of  Compofition  is  pre-occupied  by  a 
critic,  whofe  noble  work  on  this  fubjecl:  is 
fo  univerfally  perufed  and  admired  by 
readers  of  the  fmalleft  claffical  knowledge* 
that  an  enlargement  on  this  fubject  is  in 
a  great  meafure  fuperfedcd  by  it.  As  a 
repetition,  therefore,  of  the  fentiments  of 
Longinus  would  be  ufelefs  on  the  prefent 
occafion,  we  fhall  endeavour  (as  every  fub- 
jecl:  admits  of  being  viewed  in  different 
lights)  to  avoid,  as  much  as  poffible,  an 
interference  with  this  admired  author* 
which  could  anfwer  no  important  purpofe 
either  of  entertainment  or  instruction.  We 


tiered  of  no  ufe  by  fuch  an  omiffion,  would  (till  pro- 
duce an  effect  upon  a  mind  able  thoroughly  to  com- 
prehend it,  adequate  to  its  excellence,  and  to  the 
propriety  of  its  difpofition.  But  fueh  ?.ri  inequality 
when  the  mind  is  agitated  by  a  ruling  paflion,  and  far 
more  when  imagination  is  filled  with  an  exalted  idea, 
we  have  no  realbn  to  expedt.  An  cbjc£l  viewed  in- 
diftintlly,  cannot  be  clearly  reprefented  ;  but  when  it 
is  at  once  magnificent  and  turned  full  to  the  faculty 
that  furveys  it,  fuitable  words  will  occur  as  readily  to 
delineate  it  with  maftery,  as  the  proper  tools  will  be 
applied  by  a  ikilful  artifan  to  give  proportion,  grace, 
and  confiftency  to  his  work. 

VOL.  II.  M  fhall, 


1 62          Philofophlcal  and  Critical 

ihall,  therefore,  feparately  confider  by  what 
circumftances  fublimity  is  conftituted  in 
the  various  field  of  the  extenfive  art  here 
examined,  and  £how  in  what  manner  the 
true  may  be  diitinguifhed  from  the  falfe 
fublime : — the  moft  proper  method  of  im- 
proving upon  the  foundation  laid  by  na- 
ture for  the  acquifition  of  this  great  quality 
will  fall  next  to  be  examined,  as  necefifary 
to  render  our  view  of  it  complete  as  a 
chara&er  of  Compofition. 

I.  The  grand  in  this  art,  therefore, 
arifeth  from  the  union  of  bold  and  elevated 
fentiments,  with  grace  and  dignity  of  ex- 
preffion.  Of  thefe,  when  traced  to  their 
original,  imagination  is  in  moft  cafes  the 
common  parent,  To  the  observations  for- 
merly made  on  the  employments  affigned 
to  this  power  in  the  departments  of  fci- 
ence,  it  is  here  only-  necefiary  to  add,  that 
we  ought  to  diftinguifh  betwixt  one  idea. 
greatly  conceived,  or  one  circumjlance 
heightened  by  exquifite  colouring;  and 
thoughts  united  together  in  a  comprehen- 
five  plan,  which  may  be  deemed  great 
from  the  variety  and  complicated  nature 

of 


Qbfirvattons  on  Compofitrin.       163 

of  its  materials.  We  never  apply  the 
epithet  fubiime  to  a  production  of  this  laft 
kind,  whofe  conduct  is  referred  to  the 
underftanding ;  and  we  denominate  itgreaf, 
In  the  fame  fenfe  as  we  would  apply  this 
phrafe  to  an  empire  confpicuous  not  for 
the  grandeur  of  its  palaces,  but  merely  for 
the  extent,  and  variety  of  its  provincial 
territories.  A  comprehenfive  fcheme, 
therefore,  whofe  parts  are  well  adjufted, 
and  obfervations  that  lay  open  the  nature 
of  a  fubject,  indicate  the  compafs  and  depth 
of  an  author's  underftanding : — but  one 
«bject  truly  noble,  or  even  one  mafterly 
ftroke  in  the  delineation  of  a  figure,  dif- 
covers  a  fubiime  imagination ;  and  a  con^- 
genial  fpirit  is  never  at  a  lofs*  both  to  mark 
this  character  when  it  occurs,  and  to  refer 
it  when  difcovered  to  its  proper  original. 

We  do  not  here  mean  by  afcribing  the 
fubiime  to  the  power  of  invention,  either1 
to  contemplate  this  as  acting  independ- 
ently of  the  reafoning  faculty  in  the  pre- 
fent  office,  or  to  reprefent  fublimily  as 
principally  conftituted  by  the  deicription 
of  objects  fubmitted  to  the  cognifance  of 
M  2  fenfe, 


164         PkSefipkical  and  Critical 

fenfe.  The  range  of  fancy  is  immenfe; 
and  whatever  excites  admiration  falls 
within  her  province.  A  naked  rock,  a 
ihipendous  precipice,  a  ruined  tower, 
and  other  external  fcenes  of  a  fimilar  kind, 
are  prefented  in  all  the  majefty  of  defcrip- 
tion  hy  her  pencil.  But  her  influence  ex- 
tends no  lefs  to  immaterial  fobje&s,  or 
rather  thefe  when  coloured,  imperfonated, 
and  prelented  vividly  to  the  eye,  form  the 
higheft  and  moft  confpicuous  characters 
on  whkh  her  creative -energy  is  exerted. 
By  the  power  therefore  of"  imagination, 
innumerable  themes,  both  in  nature  and 
art,  are  rendered  iubje&s  of  admiration; — 
by  the  fuperintendenoe  of  neafon,  her 
flights  are  prevented  from  being  ex- 
travagant. 

There  is,  in  defcription  of  all  kinds 
whatever,  a  certain  juftnefs  of  colour  (if 
we  may  thus  exprefs  it),  a  certain  relation 
-  betwixt  the  perfon  or  thing  ceicribed,  and 
the  natural  ideas  formed  of  it  by  mankind 
in  general,  without  whkh  no  object  can 
be  denominated  fublime,  or,  indeed,  be 
di ";  inguiihed  by  any  determinate  character. 

When 


Obfemations  en  C 

When  Milton  (the  mod  fublime  of  poets) 
reprefents  the  Deity  as  "  enthroned  a- 
all  height-"  when  in  the  fame  fpirit  of 
exalted  defcription  his  fktrts  appear  "  dark 
with  excfffioe  bright ;"  we  are  led  to  ad- 
mire tbefe  daring  and  aftonifhing  drcimi- 
ftances  as  the  refult  of  regulated,  inftead 
of  cenfuring  them  as  the  ebullitions  of 
extravagant  imagination,  by  recollecting 
that  both  are  mentioned  of  the  only  Being 
to  whom  they  can  be  applied  with  pro- 
priety ;  the  hrft  filling  the  mind  with  the 
moft  exalted  idea  of  his  ineffable  majeflv; 
the  laft,  by  one  of  the  happieft  and  moft 
pi<fturefque  images  ever  feized  by  human 
imagination,  reprefenting  the  effulgence 
fplendor  that  furrounds  iiira.  Such  t  .'.-- 
ciimftances  as  thefe,  appropriated  to  iggr 
other  object  within  the  whole  compais  of 
nature,  would  be  viewed  as  indications  df 
an  invt:  .culty,  great  indeed,  but  un- , 

oontroiiled  in  its  operations,  and  unaided 
by  that  power  which  maintains  confifte; 
in  every  form  delineated  by  the  mind. 

ere  then  we  obferve  the  provinces  of 

the   two  fupeiior   faculties  in  producing 

M  3  fub- 


3  66         Philofophical  and  Critical  • 

fublime   Compofition    placed   in    diftin& 
points  of  view.     As  the  former,  therefore, 
conceives  the  original  idea,  fo  when  this 
has  been  reviewed  by  the  underflanding 
with  approbation,  it  fuggefts  an  expreflion 
adapted  to  convey  it  with  fuitable  energy. 
Hence  it  happens,  that  though  we  often 
meet  with  flimfy  thoughts  clothed  in  pom- 
pous language,  and  rendered  by  this  dif-r 
proportion   confpicuoufly    ridiculous,    yet 
we    rarely,   or   never  obferve   a   thought, 
conceived  with   genuine  fublimity,  to  be 
disfigured  by  mean  and  inexpreffive  epi- 
thets.    The  fame  intellectual  power  that 
rifes  to  elevated  fentiment,  prefcribes  like- 
wife  an  expreflion  adequate  to  its  majefty ; 
as  well  as  the  colouring,  or  imagery,  cal- 
culated to  make  the  moil  vivid  impreffion. 
Contemplated  as  the  parent  of  the  marvel- 
lous and  admirable,  the  influence  of  im- 
agination is  by  no  means  to  be  limited  to 
the  invention  of  what  is  grand  in  fenti- 
'ment,  or  to  the  perfonification  of  what  is 
inanimate  in  nature.     Thefe  are,  indeed, 
the  themes  that  require  her  moft  ftrenuous 
exertion,      But  when   we   trace    to    this 


power 


Qbfirvations  on  CompofittQn.       167 

power  Hkewife,  as  to  its  original  fource, 
the  {election  of  well  appropriated  language, 
it  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  we  afcribe 
no  greater  effect  to  it  than  the  paflions, 
taken  feparately,  (hare  with  it  in  common  j 
each  of  which  dictates  a  diftinct  expreffion, 
in  proportion  as  it  is  gentle,  or  forcible ; 
languid,  or  impetuous ;  by  which,  as  an 
invariable  criteria,  we  form  an  eftimate  of 
the  character  or  temper. 

We  muft  not  fuppofe,  however,  that 
this  happy  coalition  of  noble  objects  and 
figniricant  diction,  whofe  concurrence  is 
neceffary  to  give  fublimity  either  to  fenti- 
ment  or  description,  can  be  perfectly  ob- 
tained, even  by  the  united  effort  of  both 
intellectual  powers,  while  unimproved  by 
ftudy,  experience,  and  practice.  Art,  in 
order  to  complete  this  character,  muft  im- 
prove upon  the  foundation  of  nature  j 
and  an  author  ought  to  be  fo  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  manner  of  forming  this 
combination  in  particular  inflances,  as  that 
his  own  practice  may  be  regulated  by  the 
theory  he  hath  gained  from  experience. 
This  circumftance  it  is,  that  renders  the 
M  4  true 


168         Philofophical  and  Critical 

true  fublime  fo  uncommon,  and  fo  difficult 
an  attainment.  The  irregular  grandeur 
of  a  Gothic  edifice,  at  the  fame  time  that 
it  excites  admiration,  reminds  us  of  an 
uncultivated  age,  and  of  a  people  yet  un- 
acquainted with  the  effects. arifing  from  a 
graceful  afiemblage  of  corresponding  parts. 
There  is  a  wildnefs .  here  which  pleafeth, 
as  an  imitation  of  nature  in  fome  of  her 
rudeft  productions ;  but  we  behold  with 
equal  aftonifhment,,  and  with  higher  ap- 
probation, a  performance  .in  this  kind, 
finifhed  by  the  exquifite  ftrokes  of  an  art 
concealed  from  our  infpection,  and  wrought 
(though  we  perceive  not  the  means)  from 
models  in  which  the  union  of  grandeur 
and  regularity  forms  the  neareft  approach 
to  perfection. 

II.  Thefe  obfervations  on  the  fublime 
in  Compofiticn,  will  be  elucidated  when 
we  confider  the  various  means  by  which 
this  great  character  of  the  art  is  conftituted. 
A  little  reflection  will  convince  us,  that 
fublimity  arifeth  from  combinations,  fo 
diverfified  both  of  language  and  fentiment 
in  the  various  fpheres  of  Compofition,  as 

may 


Obfervattons  on  Compofitlon.       169 

may  indeed  be  difcovered  by  tafte,  but 
cannot  be  reduced  into  a  regular  fyftem. 
Some  of  thefe,  however,  it  may  here  be 
proper  to  point  out  and  exemplify,  as  well 
as  to  £how  in  what  manner  the  true  may 
be  diftinguimed  from  the  falje  fublime,  iu 
order  at  the  fame  time  to  direct  a  mind 
ambitious  of  acquiring  this  excellence,  to 
the  path  that  leads  to  it ;  and  by  detecting, 
from  comparifon,  the  errors  of  falfe  repre- 
fentation  to  render  thefe  the  objects  of  its 
avoidance. 

A  thought  then  fometimes  becomes 
fublime,  when  the  imagination  feizing  op- 
polite  circurnftances,  two  fubjects  for  in- 
ftance,  in  the  extremes  of  magnitude  and 
Httlenefs,  of  elevation  and  meannefs,  placeth 
the  former  in  an  exalted,  and  both  in  a 
picturefque  point  of  view,  by  bringing 
thefe  immediately  into  comparifon.  "  I 
"  believe  (fays  Socrates,  in  the  celebrated 
"  dialogue  formerly  referred  to)  that  this 
"  earth  is  an  immenfe  body ;  and  to  a  fu- 
"  perior  Being  (as  he  afterwards  defcribes 
'  "  one)  looking  down  upon  it,  we,  who 
"  inhabit  the  countries  that  lie  betwixt 

"  the 


170          Phtiofophical  and  Critical' 

"  the  river  Phafis,  and  the  Pillars  of  Her- 
"  cules,  appear  fcattered  on  the  coafts  of 
"  the  Mediterranean  like  ants  or  frogs,  as 
"  we  behold  them  gathered  in  parcels 
"  about  a  lake  *."  There  is  fomething 
noble  in  the  idea  exhibited  here  of  the 
world  in  general  ;  and  the  contemptible 
figure  which  many  powerful  nations  make, 
when  compared  with  it,  raifes  our  concep- 
tions of  its  extent  and  magnificence  as  a 
•work  worthy  of  its  Divine  Architect.  The 
Being  who  looks  on,  likewife,  we  are  dif- 
pofed  to  admire  as  fublrme  aud  glorious, 
in  the  fame  proportion  as  thofe  whom  he 
contemplates  are  deemed  to  be  little  and 
Infignificant.  A  beauty  ^of  the  fame  kind, 
but  incomparably  more  exalted,  charac- 
terifeth  the  following  paflage  in  the  work 
of  a  celebrated  modern  poet,  where  the 
^  by  one  ftroke  of  his  mafterly  pencil, 


*   ETI  TOJVW  i^r,,  iseifjt.us'yiz  rt  twoti  aura,  x«»  r^a? 


TUV 

TOWOiJ   OJXfiV 


appears 


Obfervations  on  Compofiticn.        171 

appears   ineffably   glorious  from  compa- 
rifon  with  the  moft  fplendid  of  his  works. 

O  THOU  whofe  word  from  folid  darknefs  ftruck 

ThatfparA  the  SUN  *. 

This  glorious  orb  of  light,  reprefented  as 
a  fpark  ftruck  out  at  once  by  the  word  of 
the  Deity,  placeth  the  Creator  in  a  point 
of  view  inconceivably  more  fublime  than 
could   have   been  attained  by  any  detail, 
however    animated,    of    his    perfections. 
Viewed  in  oppofition  to  the  higheft  of  his 
vifible  works,  which  difTolves  before  him 
into  nothing,  the  mind  is  filled  by  this 
circumftance  with  an   idea  as  worthy  of 
its  original  as  it  is  poflible  for  it  to  con- 
ceive. 

As  a  great  object  is  thus  in  general  fet 
off  to  the  higheft  advantage  by  being 
placed  in  oppofition  to  an  inferior  one, 
diftinguimed  by  fome  real  or  fuppoied  re- 
femblance,  fo  in  other  cafes,  when  original, 
to  be  placed  in  a  fublime  light  is  lefs  dig- 
nified, and  the  imagination  of  the  painter 
muft  fupply  its  deficiencies  by  colour  and 

*  Night  Thought?,  p.  2. 

expref- 


172          Phihfophical  and  Critical 

expreflion ;  it  is  yet  rendered  exalted  by 
a  happy  difpofition  of  fome  preceding  cir- 
cumftances,  without  which  we  mould  have 
perceived  in  it  nothing  extraordinary. — 
Thus  when  He&or  is  going  to  part  from 
Andromache,  after  many  tender  and  na- 
tural expoftulations,  the  poet  fays, 


Thus  having  faicl,  the  glorious  chief  refumes 
His  towering- helmet,  black  with  {hading  plumes. 

POPE. 

But  what  (it  may  be  afked)  is  there  great 
in  this  defcription  of  the  Trojan  heroe  ? — 
We  muft  look  for  this  purpofe  into  the 
preceding  interview,  in  which  we  fee  this 
illuftrious  prince  taking  a  laft  and  melan- 
choly farewel  of  his  wife  and  child,  in  a 
fcene  of  mingled  tendernefs  and  magna- 
nimity; where,  after  having -given  a'loofe 
to  the  fofter  pallions,  and  appeared  the 
tender  father  and  affe&ionate  hufband,  he 
reaiTumes  the  character  of  the  hero,  and, 
expreiling  his  ambition  to  be  foremoft  in 
defending  his  country,  puts  on  hrs  helmet, 
and  goes,  with  unfhaken  fortitudes  to  the 

battle. 

This 


Obfervatlons  on  Compo/itwn.       173 

This  happy  difpofition  of  circumftances 
'as  it  gives  dignity  to  an  incident,  other- 
wife  inconfiderable  in  defcription,  fo  in 
narration  it  renders  a  character  truely  fub- 
lime ;  and  fentiments,  otherwife  merely 
philofophical,  the  peculiar  objects  of  ad- 
miration.— Socrates,  reafoning  againft  the 
fear  of  death,  and  coolly  running  the  com- 
parifon  betwixt  what  we  enjoy  in  this  life, 
and  what  we  conceive  of  the  next,  appears 
merely  in  the  light  of  an  excellent  philo- 
fopher.  But  Socrates,  juft  condemned  to 
death  himfelf,  by  a  fentence  flagrantly 
unjuft,  entering  calmly  into  the  examina- 
tion of  this  queftion  before  his  judges  *, 
without  expreffing  fear,  anger,  indig- 
nation, or  refentment  f ;  this  great  man 

*  After  having  faid  that  the  friendly  fpirk  which 
prevented  him  from  purfuing  upon  other  occafions 
\vhr.t  was  unfit,  had  given  him  uo  warning  upon  the 
present,  he  concludes,  that  this  being  looked  upon  his 
death  as  an  happy  event.  This  he  proves  by  a  philo- 
fophical investigation. 

•f*  Ka»  tyx'yt  roig  xaTai^Ti^p'frawtvsj?  p*  xa*  rc>t; 
xarJij-ofOij  oy  zravy  p^aAfTraisa.  xairoi  ow  rzvrv  T>; 
^iavot*  K*Te$iKpt£«tto  aou  xxt  XA'tyosmi.  AHOA. 
IHK.  rff.r.fA.  A}'. 

cndea- 


174          Philofqphical  and  Critical 

endeavouring  to  prepare  his  accufers  for 
meeting  death  with  intrepidity  when  their 
own  turn  Ihould  come  *,  and  requefting 
of  them,  to  punim  his  children  after  him, 
fhould  thefe  prefer  opulence  to  virtue  f> 
appears  in  a  light  almoft  divine.  Every 
fentiment  is  ineffably  dignified  by  the  cir- 
cumftances  in  which  he  is  placed;  the 
whole  action  is  fublime  in  the  higheft  de- 
gree, and  the  man  appears  exalted  above 
the  common  level  of  humanity.  It  is  a 
conduct  of  this  kind  upon  which  not  only 
men,  but  even  the  gods  themfelves,  were 
fuppofed  to  look  down  with  admiration. 

A  defcription  (particularly  in  the  higher 
branches  of  poetry,  where  a  feries  of 
actions  are  related)  becomes  wonderfully 
fublime  by  the  introduction  of  a  juft  and 


*   AAAa   xai  Ujtxa?   -^prt  u  avSzt 
ttvar*  T&POS  TOV  $ot,va.rovt  xai  tv  Tt  TOUTO  Jiavofi<r9ai  aA»|- 
6ft,  OT»    oux  ff<    av^i   OLyaftw  x^xov    o*«dfv,    cure 
»,    Id.  ibid. 


raura  raura   AUTTCUKT*?  aTTff    fj/w  u 

^oxaxr»v  »!  ^^  n/xaray  7)  aAA«  T»   TSgQTifiw  tw*- 
ti  «f£Tr,f.     Ibid. 

adequate. 


Qbftrvations  en  Compojition.       175 

adequate  illuftration  *.  This  method  of 
obtaining  fublimity  is  put  in  practice  uni- 
verfally  by  all  writers  who  dwell  on  great 
and  magnificent  objects.  It  is,  however, 
as  difficult  to  reach  this  fummit  of  excel- 
lence by  the  prefent,  as  by  any  means 
whatever,  becauie  the  image  that  conveys 
to  us  fuch  an  object  ought  to  be  equal  at 
leaft,  if  not  in  fome  refpe£ts  fuperior  to  its 
original.  The  understanding  of  an  author 
likewife,  never  appears  more  confpicuous 
in  this  high  fphere  of  Compofition,  than 
when  it  directs  him  upon  fome  occasions 
to  avoid  comparifon  of  what  kind  foever,  as 
tending  to  depreciate,  rather  than  exalt  that 
to  which  no  illuftration  can  be  adequate  f. 

That 

"  On  s'  explique  (fays  a  French  critic  with  pro- 
priety on  the  fubjecl  of  illuftration}  alTez  ordinaire- 
ment,  par  des  comparaifons  &  Ton  s'en  fert  pour  mieux 
iaire  concevoir  ce  que  Ton  propofe,  &  pour  en  donner 
une  jufte  idee.  Elles  ont  deux  qualiiez  eflentielles; 
la  premiere  eft,  que  la  chofe  que  Ton  y  employe  foit 
plus  connue,  &  plus  aifee  a  concevoir  que  cclle  que 
1'on  veut  faire  connoitre  par  fon  moyen  :  &  la  fecontic 
eft  qu'  il  y  ait  un  jufte  rapport  entre  1'un  &  1'autre." 
Boffu  du  Poeme  Epique,  liv.  vi.  chap.  3. 

t  What  another  critic  of  the  fame  nation  with  the 
former,  obferves  of  the  poetic  fable,  may  be  applied 

here 


176         Philofophtcal  and  Critical 

That  tjie  image  which  is  applied  to  fet 
a  great  a&ion  or  perfonage  before  our 
eyes  ought  to  exceed,  rather  than  fall 
below  its  original,  will  be  acknowledged, 
if  we  reflect  that  the  narration  of  any 
tranfa&ion,  how  animated  foever,  cannot 
affect  us  fo  ftrongly  as  if  we  had  either 
been  eye  witnefles  of,  or  perfonally  in- 
terefted  in  the  event;  and  in  order  as 
much  as  poflible  to  compenfate  for  this 
deficiency,  images  are  felected  that  imprefs 
a  ijvoid  idea  of  their  original  patterns  upon 
the  mind,  and  by  exceeding  the  truth, 
excite  in  us  nearly  the  fame  fenfations 
with  which  we  mould  have  beheld  it.  By 
following  out  this  train  of  obfervation,  we 
may  difcover  the  origin  of  poetic  licence 
(as  it  is  called),  and  contemplate  it  in  a 
much  more  rational  and  philofophical  light 

here  with  perfe&  propriety  to  its  images.  "  La  fable 
Joit  encore  avoir  deux  qualitez  pour  eftre  parfaite; 
elk  doit  eftre  merveHleux,  &  elle  doit  eftre  rrai  fern- 
bable.  Elle  devient  digne  d'admirarion  par  la  pre- 
miere, &  elle  devient  digne  de  creance  par  la  feconde. 
Quelque  merreilleufe  que  foit  la  fable  elle  ne  fera 
point  d'effet  ft  elle  n'eft  \Taifembable,  &c."  Rap. 
Reflex,  fur  la  Poetique  Oeuv.  torn.  ii.  p.  103. 

than 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        177 

than  is  ufually  done.     That  dignified  per- 
fonages,    great   actions,  momentous  revo- 
lutions,  or  aftonifhing  events,  might  be 
difplayed  for  the  purpofe  of  exciting  a 
virtuous  emulation,  and  of  arrefting  atten- 
tion   by    ftrokes    of    mafterly    eloquence* 
images  are  made  ufe  of  whofe  tendency 
principally  is  to  exalt  the  imagination,  or 
to    awaken    the    paffions    proper    to    be 
wrought  on.     While  we  are  confcious  of 
the  end  for  which  thefe  are  applied,  reafon, 
in  this  caie,  overlooks  a  difproportion  be- 
twixt the  image  and  the  object  to  be  il- 
luftrated,  which  it  would  have  cenfured  in 
another   as    impertinent   and    injudicious; 
Thus  it  was  foon  obferved,  that  the  end 
of  poetic  reprefentation  could  not  be  effec- 
tuated unlefs  an  indulgence  was  granted 
of  the  kind  here  mentioned.     This  indul- 
gence therefore,  has  in  all  ages  been  per- 
mitted, and  when  the  truth  is  not  grofsly 
violated  by  circumftances  abfurd  and  in- 
credible, the  mind  confiders  a  certain  dif- 
parity  as  adding  to  the  beauty,  and  height- 
ening the  impreffion  of  the  whole. 

VOL,  II.  N  There 


ij8         Philofophical  and  Critical 

There  is  no  perfonage  of  poetic  flory, 
either  ancient  or  modern,  defcribed  with 
higher  colouring,  and  in  a  greater  variety 
of  attitudes,    than  the   Satan  of  Milton. 
Yet  when  he  is  compared  by  this  fublime" 
genius  (in  different  parts  of  his  work)  to 
the   fun  in  eclipfe  *,   to  a  comet  f,  to  a 
planet  J,  and  even  to  Atlas  or  Teneriff  §, 
it   is   obvious,  that   thefe   capital  circum- 
ftances  are  mentioned  rather  as  their  fplen- 
dor,    their    portentous  appearance,    their 
magnitude,    and   their   ftability,    ferve   to 
convey,  in  different  points  of  view,  fome 
idea  of  the  attributes  that  are  afcribed  to 
him,  than  as  thefe  exhibit  the  exact  pro- 
portions of  his  Itature,  the  real  expreffion 
of  his  anger,  or  the  unconquerable  firm- 
nefs  of  his  ftrength  and  refolution.     We 
admire  the  grandeur  of  that  imagination 
which   reprefents  its   object    in  fo   many 
noble   and   picturefque  attitudes,  without 
either  conceiving  it  to  be  fully  equal  to 
the  comparifons  in  every  circumflance,  or 

*  Paradite  Loft,  b.  i.  1.  594.          f  Id   b.  ii   1.  708. 
J  Id.  b.  vi.  1.  313.  §  Id.  b.  iv.  1.  987. 

being 


Obfervations  on  Compofitwn. 

being  offended  becaufe  we  obferve  fome 
inequality.     The  cafe  is  indeed  different, 
when  this  inequality   takes    place  in   the 
illuftration  as  falling  below  the  original. 
The  end  of  poetic  defcription   (which  is 
intended,  as  we  formerly  obferved,  to  fup- 
ply  the  emotions  excited  by  perfonal  in- 
fpection)   is   loft  in  this  inftance ;    and  a 
character  intended  to  raife  admiration,  ex- 
cites no  other  paffion  than  that  of  ridicule-. 
It  is  (as  we  obferved  formerly)  a  proof  of 
an    author  s    underftanding    to    avoid    all 
comparifon,  when  the  perfon  or  thing  de- 
fcribed   is  either  fuch  as   his  imagination 
can  illuftrate  by  no  adequate   image,   or 
when  it  is  fo  great  as  that  any  illuftration 
muft  necefTarily  fall  below  it.     There  are, 
indeed,  few  things  capable  of  being  illuf- 
trated,  to  which  the  genius  of  Milton  was 
inferior.      The    Deity   himfdf,    only   his 
judgment  reprefented  as  fuperior  to  what- 
ever falls  within  the  compafs  of  human 
-inveftigation.     His    ftrokes   are    therefore 
here  as  cautious  and   timid,   as   in  other 
inftances  thefe  are  daring  and  mafterly. 

N  2  A  very 


180         Philofophical  and  Critical 

A  very  high  degree  of  fublimity  is  often 
obtained  by  a  fudden  and  abrupt  inter- 
rogation *>  An  author  may  feize  the 

imagina- 

*  This  method  of  becoming  fublime,  acquires  its 
excellence   principally  from  exciting  fuiprize,   which 
an  interrogation,  or  a  feries  of  theie,  may  awaken,  fo 
as  to  make  a  very  powerful  imprefiion.    Here  we  muft 
take  care,  however,  not  to  include,  under  the  deno- 
mination  of    fublimity,    fuch    ftrokes    of    eloquence 
as  may  have  ftrength  and  pathos,  though  without  that 
character  of  jufl  elevation  which  conftitutes  this-  ex- 
cellence.    Without   keeping   this  diftin&ion  in  cur 
eye,  we  fhall  be  apt  to  confound  witb  each  other  cha- 
racters of  Competition  perfectly  diftincl ;   and  what 
•we  do  not  thoroughly  comprehend,  we  cannot  hope 
fuccefsfully  to  imitate.     Quintilian,  diftinguiihed  as 
he  ufually  is  by  exquifite  tafte  as  well  as  accurate  dif- 
cernmcnt,  feems  fomewbat  inadvertently  to  have  fallen 
into  this  miitake,  by  an  example  he  produceth  of  fub- 
Hmity   from    an   oration   of  Cicero.      Having  made 
much  the  fame  diftintlion  betwixt  a  comparifon  and. 
tranflaticn,   as    figures   of  rhetoric,   which   we   have 
found  Ariftotle  making  betwixt  an  image  and  a  meta- 
phor, b.  I.  feel:,  vi.  p.  112.  he  proceeds  to  obferve, 
that  a  wonderful  degree  of  fublimity  is  often  obtained 
by  the  tranfiation  as  it  is  called,  i.  e.  the  giving  life 
and  adlion  to  an  objeft  wholly  inanimate.     The  fol- 
lowing bold   interrogations,   addrefied  to  Tubero,  he 
produceth  as  an  example. — "  Quid   enim  tuus  ille 
Tubero  deltrictus  in  acie  Pharfalica  gladius  agebat  I 
Cujus  fotns  ilie  mucro  petebat  ?    Qui  fenfus  erat  ar- 


Obfervations  on  Comport  ton.        181 

imagination  at  once  by  employing  this 
figure;  and  when  his  own  mind  is  filled 
with  the  grandeur  of  fome  idea,  may  exalt 
in  the  fame  manner  that  of  another,  with- 
out entering  into  circumftantial  detail. 
When  the  great  POET,  formerly  men- 
tioned, is  going  to  paint  the  combat  of 
Michael  and  Satan,  as  if  at  a  lofs  to  con- 
vey his  idea  with  fuitable  ftrength,  he 
exclaims, 

Who,  though  with  the  tongue 
Of  angels,  can  relate,  or  to  what  things 
Liken  on  earth  conlpicuous,  that  may  lift 
Human  imagination  to  fuch  height 
Of  god -like  power  ? —  Book  vi. 

Without  mentioning  any  particular  cir- 
cumftance  here,  relating  to  the  combatants, 

morum  tuorum  ?"  Cicer.  pro  Ligar.  Quintil.  lib.  viii. 
cap.  6.  The  perfonification  in  this  paffage  is  un- 
doubtedly Itrong  and  mafterly  in  an  eminent  degree. 
But  is  it  not  an  inftance  rather/ of  the  bold  that  ani- 
mates, and  of  the  new  that  furprifeth,  than  of  the  grand 
that  fwells  and  elevates  the  imagination  ?  Thefe  are 
fpheres  that  ought  always  to  be  confidered  as  different ; 
a  point  that  can  only  be  obtained  by  bringing  to  the 
itandard  of  certain  efhblifhed  rules,  -every  -example 
that  falls  under  our  cognifance,  as  we  fhaH  thus  be 
able  to  refer  every  effect  to  its  proper  principle,  and 
will  be  unembarrafied  in  our  decifions. 

N  3  the 


382         Philofophical  and  Critical 

the  author  leads  us  to  form  the  higheft 
notion  of  their  mutual  ability,  and  interefts 
us  iirongly  in  the  event  of  a  tranfaftion 
upon  which  he  enters  with  fo  much  fo-: 
lemnity,  and  to  the  full  defcription  of 
which  he  reprefents  created  intelligence  as 
inadequate.  It  would  be  improper  to  mul- 
tiply examples  of  fublimity  obtained  by 
this  figure,  as  after  having  the  track 
pointed  out,  every  reader  of  fenfibility 
will  fuggeft  thefe  for  himfelf. 

The  laft,  and  principal  fource  of  real 
grandeur  in  Compofition,confifts  of  bold  and 
animated  perfonifications.  By  this  figure  a 
fentiment  is  often  placed  in  a  light  the  moft 
perfectly  advantageous,  as  it  becomes  pic-, 
turefque,  and  opens  two  inlets  of  pleafure 
by  gratifying  at  the  fame  time  the  ima- 
gination and  the  fenies.  It  is  on  this  ac- 
count, that  two  of  the  moft  beautiful  pieces 
of  antiquity  are  fo  much,  and  fo  juftly 
efteemed  ;  I  mean  the  Hercules  of  Pro- 
dicus,  and  the  noble  portraiture  of  Cebes. 
We  have,  in  a  former  work,  confidered 
this  noble  figure  in  a  philofophical  light, 
and  have  endeavoured  to  account  for  its 

various 


Obfer'vations  on  Compofithn.        183 

various  effects  to  which  we  here  refer,  as 
fuperfeding  an  enlargement  *.     We  need 
only  at  prefent  to  obferve,  that  as  the  fub- 
lime  in  almoft  every  cafe  requires  the  pic- 
turefque  to  be  united  with  it,  and  is  per- 
fected by  this  combination,  the  laft  men- 
tioned character  is  never  more  completely 
obtained,  than  when  imperfonated  figures 
are   placed    before    the  imagination  with 
their  proper  infignia,  and  are  reprefented 
as  producing  their  natural  effects.    To  the 
union  of  thefe  circumflances  in  Compo- 
fition,  we  mall  find,  upon  recollection,  that 
the  moil  admired  examples,  both  of  an- 
cient and   modern   genius,   owe  all  their 
Lmpreffion.      Of   this  the    winds   in    the 
^Eneid  rufliing  at  the  command  of  their 
fovereign    to  fwell   the  agitated  ocean  f; 
the  deities,  in  the  Iliad,  occupying  every 
department  of  nature,  and  animating  every 
action  of  the  poem  $ ;  the  angels,  in  the 
Paradife  Loft,  weildiag  the  elements,  and 
iliaking  the  whole  creation  from  its  bafis  §, 

*  Efiay  on  Lyric  Poetry,  let.  ii.  p.  101.  octav.  edit, 
f  ^Eneid.  lib.  i.  +  IAIAA.  pafl". 

$  Parad,  Loft,  book  vi. 

N   4  or 


184         Philofophical  and  Critical 

or  (to  mention  perfonifications  more  per- 
fedly  allegorical)  the  figure  of  Melancholy, 
in  Pope's  Eloifa  to  Abelard  * ;  of  Night, 
in  the  Complaint    of  Young  j~ ;    of  the 
mountains  £,  the  ocean,  and  the  deluge  §, 
in  the  Sacred  writings,  afford  ftriking  and 
remarkable  examples.     In   each  of  thefe, 
taken  feparately,  and  in  many  others  of 
the   fame  kind,   great  objects,    particular 
expreffions,    and    appropriated  colouring, 
form  a  combination  which  we  furvey  with 
aftonimment,  and  whofe  effecl:  upon  a  fuf- 
ceptible    mind    is    little    inferior    to    that 
which  would  have  arifen  from  beholding 
the  originals. 

The  great  art  of  rendering  either  figures 
imperfonated  for  exciting  admiration,  or 
even  inanimate  objects  pi&urefque,  lies  in 
painting  thefe  with  ftrokes  that  in  order 
to  be  difcriminating  muft  be  particular. 
It  is  the  fame  in  eloquence,  when  an  orator 
attempts  to  awaken  the  paffions.  The 
fame  expedient  muft  be  ufed  to  penetrate 

*  Eloif.  to  Abel.  v.  163,  to  171. 

-f-  Night  i  v.  18—25. 

$  Ilabak.  ch.  iii.  v.  3.  §  Pfalm.  civ.  v- 

the 


Obfervations  on  Comptfition*        i8c 

the  heart  in  the  lad  inftance,  which  feizeth 
the  imagination  in  the  former.  We  may- 
judge  an  object  to  be  great  from  a  defcrip- 
tion  which  by  no  means  renders  it  pic- 
turefque,  in  the  fame  manner  as  we  may 
comprehend  the  general  purport  of  obferv- 
ations,  when  we  defcend  not  to  minute 
investigation.  Thus  a  mountain  covering 
an  immenfe  track  of  country,  or  in  general 
any  object  of  uncommon  magnitude,  we 
acknowledge  to  be  great  in  the  common 
fenfe  of  that  word.  But  it  is  by  the  fhadow 
trembling  on  the  diftant  lake,  by  the  cedar 
on  its  top  feen  like  a  fhrub,  and  by  the 
eagle  hovering  like  a  fpeck  above  its  fum- 
mit :  it  is  by  thefe  circumftances  that  the 
whole  becomes  picturefque ;  and  the  figure 
is  more  completely  difplayed  by  a  fingle 
ftroke  of  this  kind,  than  by  any  defcrip- 
tion,  however  elaborate,  of  its  fize,  height, 
and  productions.  When,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  mind  is  to  be  powerfully  im- 
prefled,  and  the  heart  to  be  penetrated  by 
energetical  reprefentation,  this  purpofe  is 
accomplished  more  effectually  by  one 
pointed  appeal,  by  one  ftrong,  fignificant, 


186         Phllofophlcal  and  Critical 

and  particular  expreffion,  than  by  a  ge- 
neral enumeration,  though  conducted  with 
the  utmoft  accuracy,  of  all  the  motives  by 
which  the  heart  of  man  ought  to  be 
touched,  and  his  practice  to  be  regulated. 
Such  is  the  diftindtion  which  the  mind  al- 
ways makes  betwixt  what  is  approved 
folely  by  the  underftanding,  and  what  is 
felt  by  the  heart. 

It  will  here  naturally  be  afked,  by  what 
means  has  this  particularly  its  effed:  ? — 
The  mathematician,  who  meafures  exactly 
the  height  and  dimenfions  of  a  mountain, 
and  the  poet  who  paints  it,  obtains  each 
his  purpofe  by  being  particular;  as  the 
philofopher  in  the  fame  manner  who  enu- 
merates motives  of  conduct,  defcends  from 
general  to  more  minute  difquilition,  in 
order  to  imprefs  more  powerfully,  the 
truth  of  certain  propofitions.  But  here 
lies  the  difference  betwixt  the  faculty  of 
reafon  operating  by  itfelf,  and  combined 
with  imagination,  fo  as  to  conftitute  dif- 
cernment.  In  the  one  cafe  the  mind  can- 
not, by  the  moft  elaborate  refearch,  obtain 
that  puq>ofe,  which  in  the  other  one  maf- 

terly 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        187 

terrly  ftroke  inftantly  effectuates,  without 
premeditation,   ftudy,   or   induftry.     It  is 
the  province  of  this  laft  power  (as  we  have 
already   feen  *)    to    fuggeft    immediately 
every  circumftance  that  tends  to  place  its 
object  before  the  imagination  in  the  moft 
finking  point  of  view,  and  every  motive 
that  warms,   agitates,   and  penetrates  the 
breart.     A  great  perfonage,  therefore,  re- 
prefented  as  a  principal  actor  in  fome  in- 
terefting  tranfaction,    moves  at  the  fame 
time  in  a  dignified  fphere,  and  is  rendered 
cogn liable  by  the  eye  of  the   reader,  in 
confequence  of  certain  happy  expreffions 
thrown  into  his  countenance,  an  attitude 
jufily  conceived,  or  an  enterprize  fuitably 
adapted ;   in  which  inftances  the  hand  of 
a  confummate  artift  is  indicated  from  the 
choice  of  circumftances    that   carry  fub- 
limity  to  its  utmoft  height  by  uniting  it 
with  the  picturefque  and  animated. 

The  grand,  in  the  art  here  examined, 
confidered  as  it  hath  thus  been  with  re- 
gard to  its  original,  and  to  the  various 

*  See  book  i.  fe£l.  4. 

com- 


1 88         Pk'lofophical  and  Critical 

combinations  by  which  it  is  conftituted, 
in  order  to  produce  its  proper  effect,  ought 
to  be  diftinguifhed  from  the  bombaft  or 
tumid,  as  it  is  called,  which  aflumes  upon 
many  occafions  fo  nearly  the  appearance 
of  genuine  fublimity,  as  to  impofe  almoft 
eo^ially  upon  the  inexperienced,  as  upon 
thole  who  are  really  defective  in  difcern- 
ment.  We  are  as  ready  to  miftake  a 
feeming,  for  a  real  character  of  Compe- 
tition, as  we  are  in  life  to  give  a  man 
credit  for  certain  virtues,  who  has  fliadow 
without  fubrtance,  and  it  is  by  experience 
only  that  we  are  undeceived  of  both.  In 
order  to  prevent  fuch  a  deception  in  the 
prefent  cafe,  let  us  enquire  what  is  un- 
derftood  by  bombaft  Compofition,  and  by 
what,  criteria  U  is  to  be  known. 

As  we  have  feen  that  the  true  fublime 
demands  an  union  of  noble  fentiments 
and  elevated  expreflion ;  the  falfe  it  is  ob- 
vious, muft  argue  a  defect  of  either  or 
both  character iftics.  In  general,  we  may 
pbferve  on  this  fubject,  that  though  even 
a  difcerning  critic  may  be  deceived  by  that 
appearance  of  this  great  character  which 

fo 


on   Compofition.        i^g 

fo  nearly  refembles  its  reality  ;  yet  when 
he  difcovers  upon  recollection,  that  the 
pomp  of  language  is  elaborately  difplayed 
to  fet  off  either  trite  fentiments,  or  inade- 
quate objects,  he  will  conclude  that  the 
affedation  of  grandeur  is  then  predo- 
minant, and  that  the  turgid  takes  place  of 
the  genuine  fublime.  Expreffion,  there- 
fore, is  faid  to  be  bombaft  when  it  is 
wrought  up  in  a  manner  which  the  judi- 
cious reader  perceives  to  be  the  effect  of 
art  rather  than  of  nature;  when  much 
labour  is  bellowed  to  collect  together 
founding  words  and  ftrong  epithets,  which 
pour  upon  the  mind  at  once,  and,  like  the 
noife  of  a  torrent,  are  calculated  rather  to 
ftun  than  to  exalt  it.  Vulgar  ideas  con- 
veyed in  elaborate  periods  ;  images  far 
fetched,  difcordant,  or  unappropriated  *  ; 

{trained 


*  KafiatTrfp  i/auj  pupix  JjaJp^uso-*  xu/x-arar,  *2t 
txtywyovrx  j^si/Awi/a?  (fays  Chryfcftom, 
fpeaking  of  the  Pharaifee  whofe  arrogance  is  con- 
demned by  our  Saviour)  e  irtx.  tv  avru  ru 
<TK07T£\u  TJH  &po(r«p*£«(r«  WOIVTU  rev 


CUT05 


Philofophical  and  Critical 

(trained  epithets,  and  defcriptions  rendered 
fhocking    by    unnatural    circumflances  *j 

exprefled 


euro?  T 

tv  aurw  TW 

XPTZOS0. 

This  tumid  and  unappropriated  image 
conveys  to  the  mind  of  the  reader  no  didinft  idea  of 
the  action  to  which  it  is  applied,  and  is  befides 
wrought  up  with  improper  circumftances.  In  order 
to  have  rendered  it  properly  adapted  to  the  Pharai  fee's 
fituation,  the  (hip  ought  to  have  been  daftied  on  a 
rock,  in  confequence  .of  the  mariner's  abfurd  confi- 
dence and  precipitance.  This  man  likewife,  is  not 
condemned  for  the  offence  of  his  tongue,  but  for  the 
temper  of  mind  that  prompted  to  this  tranfgreffion. 

*  In  order  to  have  a  full  idea  of  the  fault  men- 
tioned in  the  text,  let  usobferve  in  what  manner  three 
of  the  moft  celebrated  ancients  have'  defcribed  the" 
fame  a£tion.  Homer  fays,  that  the  horfes  who  dre\r 
Heeler's  chariot,  flew  with  great  velocity  from  the 
left  to  the  right  wing  of  the  battle. 

2-mecvTtS  vfxva?  rt  xtxt  ao-Truta?,  ajjtxa-n  (T  a£&» 

Ntpflfv  «7ra? 

A?  a« 

Ai  r  O.TT  tiruriraTfuv.  —  IAIAA*  P»C    A« 

This  defcription  is  wrought  up  with  ftrong  and  pic- 
turefque  circumftances  ;  but  as  the  judgment  of  the 
poet  prevented  him  from  carrying  it  on  to  too  great 
length,  it  prefents  only  to  the  mind  a  general  idea  of 
the  (laughter  and  defolation  attending  on  battle. 
Virgil  is  (till  more  cautious  :  when  ^Eneas  flies  from, 

one 


Qbfervations  on  Compofition.       igi 

cxpreflfed  likewife  in  language  equally  af- 
fe&ed,  are  examples  of  that  tumid  didion 

which 

one  end  of  the  battle  to  the  other,  to  avenge  the  death 
of  Pallas,  he  fays  only, 

Proxima  quxque  metit  gladio,  latumque  per  agmeu 
Ardens  limitem  agit  ferro.  ./Eneid.  lib.  x. 

But  Statius,  defcribing  his  hero  in  the  fame  point  of 
view,  lengthens  out  the  detail  very  improperly  in  this 
place,  and  by  attempting  to  be  more  circumftantial 
than  the  other,  introduceth  ftrokes  which  tumid  epi- 
thets, and  a  falfe  grandeur  of  ditlion,  render  equally 
(hocking  and  unnatural. 

Hos  jam  ignorantes  teret  impiu&axis,  at  illz 
Vulnere  femineces,  (nee  devitare  facultas) 
Venturum  fuper  ora  vident,  jam  lubrica  talx> 
Fraena,  nee  infifti  madidus  dat  temo,  rotseque 
Sanguine  difficile s,  &  tardier  ungula  fcffls 
Vifceribui :  tune  ipfe  furens,  in  morte  relicta 
Spicula,  &  e  mediis  extantes  offibus^  ha/las 
Avellit.     Strident  animae,  currumque  fequuntur. 

Thsebaid.  lib..vii. 

The  feeling  heart  recoils  from  fuch  a  picture  as  this, 
and  a  regulated  imagination  rejecls  it  with  horror. 
There  is,  likewife,  a  certain  decorum  of  character  to 
which  an  author  ought  to  attend  in  the  expreffion  of 
certain  paffions  or  actions.  Circumftances  that  are 
natural  and  proper  in  fome  Ctuations,  are  indelicate 
and  fhocking  in  others.  A  warrior  in  the  height  of 
his  rage,  upon  being  feized  and  reduced  to  fervitude 
by  an  enemy,  might  call  upon  lions  and  tigers  to  tear 
him  to  pieces,  rather  than  drag  out  life  in  inglorious 
bondage,  But  this  language  in  the  mouth  of  a  lady, 

in 


192          Philofophical  and  Critical 

which  conftitutes  the  falfe  fublime.  Thefe 
are  indications  of  an  imagination  vigorous 
but  diftempered,  and  in  a  mind  void  of 
that  fenfibility  which  reafori  contributes 
to  imprefs  on  a  fufceptible  heart,  pro- 
ducing ftich  effects  as  thefe  faculties,  when 
juftly  combined,  render  objects  of  horror. 
It  may  be  obferved  here,  that  this  propen- 
fity  to  fwell  out  every  circumftance  by 
falfe  colouring,  and  thus  to  exceed  the 
proportions  of  nature  will  diftinguifh  the 
man  directed  by  it  from  another  whofe 
mental  powers  are  balanced  with  jufter 
equilibrium,  as  much  when  both  are  em- 
ployed in  placing  the  fame  object  before 

in  any  cafe  whatever,  is  drained  *and  unnatural,  a3 
violating  the  foftnefs  of  the  female  character.  When 
one  of  Ariofto's  heroines  lays,  therefore, 

quefto  il  lupo,  il  Icon,  1'orfo 

Venga  e  la  tigre  e  ogn*  altra  fera  brava ; 
Di  cui  1'ugna  mi  ftracci  e  franga  il  morfo, 
E  morta  mi  ftrafcini  a  la  fua  cava.  Cant.  x. 

this  difcourfe  is  extravagant,  and  this  expreflion  in- 
flated, when  we  confider  the  perfon  who  pronounceth 
it.  In  other  circumftances  the  fame  ftrokes  might 
have  been  highly  interefting  and  pathetic.  The  reader 
will  find  many  other  examples  of  this  kind  in  the  Or- 
lando, probably  occafioned  by  the  manners  of  an  age 
not  thoroughly  refined, 

the 


'Obfervafions  on  Compofition.        19? 

the  mind,  as  when  their  fubjecls  are  dif- 
ferent. We  have  adduced  an  example  of 
this  in  the  preceding  note.  It  is  by  com- 
paring in  this  manner  representations  of 
the  fame  kind  at  lea  ft,  if  not  precisely  of 
the  fame  things,  that  we  judge  from  the 
furefl  tell,  the  effect  produced  hy  thefe, 
of  their  real  value,  or  demerit ;  and  when 
we  have  thus  difcovcred  the  catife  of  a 
fault,  unperceived  formerly  in  the  per- 
formance of  another,  the  fame  clifcerninent 
leads  us  to  correct  it  in  our  own. 

Should  it  be  neceffary  to  lay  down  any 
other  rule  for  avoiding  the  tumid  in  Com- 
pofition  (which  to  a  man  of  true  difcern- 
ment,  is  more  difgufting  than  any  other 
blemim  in  the  art,  as  indicating  more  con- 
fpicuoufly  a  defective  underftanding)  we 
would  advife  a  young  writer  to  avoid,  as 
much  as  poffible,  the  perufal  of  dech:- 
matory  works,  which  are  very  inadequate 
models,  and  yet  are  imitated  by  a  man  of 
genius  with  fo  much  facility,  as  renders 
the  trial  agreeable.  By  falling  into  this 
manner,  he  will  gradually  learn  to  fub- 
ftitute  words  in  the  place  of  things',  and 

VOL.  II.  O  having 


19*4         Pfiilofophical  and  Critical 

having  his  ear  filled  with  a  founding  pe- 
riod, will  overlook  the  fuperficial  fenti- 
ment  often  conveyed  in  it.     The  exterior 
attractions  of  the  ftyle  of  Compofition,  are 
like  feathers  beautifully  variegated  with  an 
aflemblage  of  colours  floating  on  the  fur- 
face  of  a  ftream  impregnated  with  gold. 
With   no   other   recommendation  than  a 
beautiful  outfide,  they  arreft  the  eye  of  a 
young   and   uninformed    fpe&ator.      He 
may  pleafe  himfelf  with  placing  thefe  in 
certain   ftriking  arrangements,   and   may 
thus   difcover  that   they  have  their  ufe. 
But  it  is  by  fearching  the  ftream  to  the 
bottom,  that  he  will  be  taught  not  to  reject 
the  original  objects  of  his  choice  as  wholly 
contemptible,  but  to  confider  their  com- 
parative utility,  and  value  them  propor- 
tionally. 

We  do  not,  howevery  mean  when  we 
thus  advife  a  man  of  genius  to  avoid  fuch 
branches  of  Compofition  in  very  early 
Ufe  as  may  render  his  own  expreflion  in- 
flated and  turgid,  to  recommend  the  fame 
cautious  procedure  when  his  tafte  is  pro- 
perly formed,  and  when  he  is  able  to. 

diftin- 


Obferuations  on  Compofition.       lot 

diftinguim  appearance  from  reality  fo 
juftly  as  not  to  be  impofed  upon  by  the 
former.  In  this  fituation  he  will  receive 
information  from  obferving  the  faults, 
even  of  performances  excellent  upon  the 
whole,  as  he  will  at  the  fame  time  judge 

of  the  caufe  from  which  thefe  are  'derived* 

i 

and  of  the  method  molt  happily  adapted 
to  correct  them.  With  regard  to  the  pre- 
fent  fubject  more  particularly,  we  may 
affirm  with  truth,  that  the  fame  vigour  of 
imagination  which  directed  improperly, 
produceth  tumid  Compofition,  juftly  regu- 
lated, would  have  rendered  it  fublime. 
The  firft  of  thefe,  indeed,  is  commonly 
fuppofed  to  accompany  either  objects  or 
fentiments  themfelves  fuperficial,  or  at 
leaft  fuperficially  examined.  But  it  is  cer- 
tain, that  the  phrafe  tumid  or  bornbaft, 
applied  to  any  branch  whatever  of  the  art, 
indicates  a  certain  difproportion  betwixt 
the  thing  reprefented,  and  the  words  em- 
ployed for  this  purpofe,  and  takes  place, 
even  when  the  idea  is  really  great  and  im-» 
portant,  as  often  as  the  diction  by  being 
ftudioufly  heightened  with  fwelling  epi- 
O  2  thets, 


196         Philosophical  and  Critical 

thets,   is  deemed  to  exceed   that  natural 
fimplicity  which  excludes  iuperfluity. 

It  is  univerfally  acknowledged,  that  the 
genuine  fublime  is  no  where   to  be  met 
with  in  higher    perfection,   than    in   the 
Paradife  Loft.     The  ingenious  author  of 
the  Life  of  Milton,  imputes,  and  no  doubt 
with  truth,    fome  part    of  that  amazing 
grandeur  which   the  imagination  of  this 
poet  obtained,  to  his  having  indulged  him* 
felf  early   in   reading   romances  *.      But 
"  along  with  the  honey  fucked  from  thefe 
weeds,' *    fome    parts    of    their    noxious 
quality  would  appear,  likewife,  to  have 
tainted  the  Compofition,  even  of  tjiis  great 
genius.     Hence  fome  critics  have  cenfured 
his  expreflion  as  inflated,  even  when  the 
moft  fublime  ideas  are  conveyed  in  it.     In 
early  life,  therefore,  what  may  have  made 
fome  impreffion  upon  fuch  a  mind  as  that 
.of  this  diftinguifhed  poet,  we  .may  natu- 
rally judge  to  have  an  effect  much  more 
confpicuous   upon    a   genius    of    inferior 
order,  fufceptible  of  the  fame  effect  from 

*  See  Fentou'i  Lite  of  Milton. 

models 

- 


Qbfervations  on  Compofitlon.        197 

models  improperly  felected,  and  lefs  able 
to  detect  their  faults,  or  to  refill  their  in- 
fluence. A  perufal,  which,  upon  the 
whole,  was  beneficial  in  one  cafe,  in  an- 
other will  produce  the  bad,  without  the 
good  effect,  and  talie  will  be  vitiated  in- 
ftead  of  being  juftly  directed  by  the  falfe 
model  of  imitation  that  is  placed  before 
the  mind. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  utmoft  purpofe 
that  culture,  however  conducted,  can  reach 
hi  directing  to  the  attainment  of  fublimity 
appears  to  be,  that  a  man  of  moderate 
genius  may  be  taught  to  diftinguifh  with 
great -propriety,  the  fublime  of  fentiment, 
or  of  deicriptidn,  from  that  fwelling  dic- 
tion in  which  neither  upon  examination  is 
confpicuous.  He  may  feel  very  power- 
fully, the  effect  arifmg-  from  that  affem- 
blage  of  circnmftances  which  gives  gran- 
deur to  Compofition,  and  when  he  cannot 
accomplim  a  complete,  will  be  deterred 
from  attempting  a  partial  imitation.  The 
inventive  power  :  likewife  by  the  fleady 
eontemplatio n  of  objects  calculated  to  call 
it  out  into  excrcife,  may  acquire  an  energy, 
P  ?  and 


398         Phihfophical  and  Critical 

and  even  compafs  fuperior  to  that  which 
nature,  unimproved  in  this  manner,  would 
have  enabled  it  to  obtain.     Thefe  acqui- 
^itions,  valuable  in  themfelves,  are  enhanced 
greatly  by  the  additional  knowledge  which 
a  man  of  difcernment  gains  by  fuch  ob- 
fervation  of  the  real  ftrength  and  proper 
fphere  of  his  faculties.     Falfe  ideas  of  an 
excellence,  or  a  partial  reprefentation  of 
it,  engage  a  man  at  beft  in  a  fruitlefs  pur- 
fuit,   which,   when   followed   out  to   the 
utmoft,   produce  in  him  only  regret  for 
not  having  thoroughly  comprehended  his 
work  before  he  engaged  in  it.    He,  there- 
fore,   whofe   imagination    is    capable   of 
making  no  extraordinary  exertion,  by  ac- 
quiring a  juft  idea  of  what  is  truly  fub- 
lime,  will  learn  upon  trial  to  imitate  only 
fuch  beauties   as  fall   within  his  fphere; 
while  that  perfon,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
may  have  been  fitted  by  nature  to  join 
great  conceptions  with  adequate  execution 
will   find  by  being  accuftomed   early  to 
contemplate  what  is  truly  admirable,  the 
path  to  this  excellence  at  lafl  laid  open  to 
him.     Inftead,  therefore,  of  fludying  the 

Decoration 


Obfervations  oh  Compofition.        199 

decoration  of  language  as  a  principal  in- 
gredient of  it  (a  miftake  of  which  a  young 
mind  is  naturally  fufceptiblc)  he  will  dif- 
cover  this  laft  to  be  wholly  of  fecondary 
confequence,  as  always  accompanying  ele- 
vated fentiment,  and  though  often  obtain- 
ing where  this  great  characteriftic  is  not 
to  be  met  with,  yet  never  deficient  where 
it  is. 


SECTION    VT. 

Of  Nervous  Compofition. 

HpHERE  appears,  at  firft  view,  to  be 
a  very  clofe  affinity  betwixt  fublime, 
and  nervous,  or  forcible  Compofition,  by 
which  laft  term  we  underftand  ftrength  and 
•energy,  either  of  thought,  of  ^xpreflion, 
or  of  both  taken  together.  Thefe,  how- 
ever, take  their  rife  from  very  diftindl 
exertions  of  the  intellectual  powers,  and 
produce  very  different  effects.  Sublime 
Compofition  is  principally  known  by  that 
height  to  which  it  exalts  imagination ;  the 
O  4  .  forcible 


soo         Philofophica!  and  Critical 

forcible  or  ftrenuous,  on  the  contrary,  by 
the  ftrength  and  duration  of  that  imprek 
fion    which  \rtj-makes    either    upon    this 
power,-  or- '  upon.' •  that   of  understanding. 
The  one  convex fant  always  with  the  grand 
-and  magnificent,  demands  high  colouring 
and    copious    illuftration  ; — the  -  -other    is 
commonly  moft  perfect  in  -its  kind  when 
the  feweft  words   are  employed,   and  is 
always  weakened   by  diffufion.     A  man 
of  fublime  genius,  defcribing  the  fun  as 
an  objecl:   incomparably,  glorious,  would 
dwell  upon  the  extent  and  fpleridor  of  the 
orbs  enlightened  by  him  :  whereas  an  idea 
of  his  influence  would  be  forcibly  conveyed 
by  reprefenting  th-e  penetrating  power  of 
his  rays  in  fome  particular  inftance.     In 
fhort,  a  man  may  have  ftrength  of  intel- 
lect who  pofiefleth  not  fublimity  of  ima- 
gination, thoti^h  he  who  has  completely 
obtained   the    laft  quality  hath  always  a 
power   of  exercifmg   the    former.      The 
fublime  analiled  into  its  principles,  con- 
fifts  of  great  ideas  ftrongly  conceived  and 
vividly  painted  ;  but  a  mind  whofe  range 
-is-  lefs   compreheniive,    may   carry   con- 
viction. 


Obfervations  on  Companion.       201 

vidion  to  the  judgment  by  flrenuous  re* 
prefentation,  or  ftrike  remorfe  to  the  re- 
coiling heart  by  a  particular  and  forcible 
appeal. 

This  mafterly  character  of  Compofition 
is  always  the  indication  of  exquifite  fen- 
fibility,  and  moft  commonly  the  refult  of 
it. .  This  obfervation  admits  of  eafy  proof. 
The  impreflion  made  by  any  reprefen- 
tation  upon  the  mind  of  a  reader,  muft 
undoubtedly  bear  a  proportion  to  that 
which  the  original  objects  imprinted  upon 
the  thought  of  the  author.  We  have  here 
faid,  that  the  one  of  thefe  muft  bear  a. 
proportion  to  the  other,  it  muft  not  be 
concluded  that  this  proportion  will  be  per- 
fect. Ideas,  even  when  exprefled  with 
the  greateft  energy,  lofe  always  a  part  of 
their  effect  by  being  conveyed  even  in 
words  that  may  be  deemed  moft  fignifi- 
cant.  The  mind  takes  into  its  firft 
draught  certain  objects,  or  particular 
ffcrokes,  which  it  cannot  delineate  with 
adequate  emphafis  (in  whatever  fphere 
likewife  we  iuppofe  it  to  be  employed) 

whofe 


2O2         PhilofopJiical  and  Critical 

whofe  abfence  necefTarily  weakens  the  i 
preflion,  and  the  effect  of  the  whole.  In 
proof  of  this  remark,  we  may  refer  every 
man  who  has  made  a  trial  of  this  kind  to 
the  teftimony  of  experience;  and  thofe 
whofe  powers  are  capable  of  making  the 
moft  vigorous  exertion,  will  probably  be 
moil  fenfible  of  its  truth.  A  mind,  there- 
fore, whofe  feelings  are  weak,  or  whofe 
powers  though  able  to  furvey  objects  ac- 
curately is  but  (lightly  imprefled  by  them, 
may  be  rational  or  methodical,  but  can 
never  be  interefting;  and  the  fecondary 
impreffion  (as  it  may  be  called)  ftill  falling 
ihort  of  the  original,  its  work  will  ceafe 
it  Jaft  to  excite  attention. 

We  fhall  here  confider  that  energy  of 
mind  which  gives  rife  to  this  ftriking  fig- 
nature  of  juft  Compofition,  as  exerting  its 
influence  on  the  fentiment,  the  diction, 
and  illuftrations  or  images,  employed  in 
the  various  branches  of  the  art.  After 
having  viewed  it  in  thefe  lights,  we  fhall 
endeavour  to  account  for  the  inequality 
that  takes  place  in  many  inftances  in  the 

works 


Obfiruations  on  Compofition.       203 

works  of  the  fame  author,  characterifed  at 
one  time  by  vigorous  execution,  as  at 
others  by  languor,  and  imbecility.  This 
will  lead  us  to  make  fome  general  remarks 
on  the  caufes  that  deprive  language  of  its 
due  force  in  particular  cafes,  and  on  the 
method  moft  proper  to  be  ufed  for  avoid- 
ing, or  for  correcting  this  weaknefs. 

I.  A  thought,  in  any  field  of  fpecula- 
tion  whatever,  is  faid  to  be  flrongly  con-* 
ceived  when  its  fignificance  is  fuch  as  to 
command  attention,  and  to  imprefs  very 
powerfully  that  faculty  to  which  it  is  prin- 
cipally addrefled.  Sometimes,  without 
having  perufed  a  work,  we  may  apply  this 
epithet  with  propriety  to  the  mind  that 
conducts  hypothefes  or  theory  only  upon 
hearing  this  laft  reprefented,  when  we  dif- 
cover  in  it  not  novelty  only,  which  of  itfelf 
excites  no  other  fenfation  than  that  of  fur- 
prife,  but  a  certain  ftrenuous,  and  daring 
exertion  of  intellect,  that  indicates  energy 
and  vigour.  When  we  hear,  for  inftance, 
of  a  philofopher  who  undertakes  to  dif- 
prove  the  exiftence  of  matter,  the  novelty 

of 


204         Pluhfophical  and 

of  the  fubje£t  (hikes  us  with  furprize^and 
we  even  expert  ingenious  difquifitten1  in 
the  .profecution  'of.it.  Refined  inveftiga-* 
tion,  metaphyfical  diftin&ion,  and  every 
indication  of:  fubtle  genius,  we  fuppofe 
will  be  difplayed  in  fuch  a  field ;  and  upon 
meeting  with  thefe  our  expectations  are 
gratified.  But  how  different  are  the  ideas 
excited  upon  hearing  repreiented  the  plan 
of  Burnet's  Theory  of  the  Earth! — The 
{hell  of  the  globe  burft  open  at  the  deluge 
by  the  waters  lodged  within  its  cavity  as 
in  an  immenfe  refervoir;  the  rocks,  moun- 
tains, precipices,  promontories,  iflands 
formed  in  different  parts  by  this  univerial 
rupture ;  the  very  idea,  however  unphilo- 
fbphical>  that  is  prefented  to  us  of  the  pre- 
fent  earth  as  an  immenfe  ruin  to  be  finally 
confumed  by  the  volcanos  without,  the 
combuftible  materials  within,  the  fun 
opening  a  paffage  tq  its  central  fire^  and 
the  earthquakes  that  unhinge  its  deepeft 
foundations; — thefe  are  thoughts  whofe 
formation  indicates  vigorous  intellectual 
exertion ;  and  a  ftrength  correfponding  tq 

that 


Obfcrvations  on   Compofitlon.        205 

that  of  the  caufes,  whofe  co-operating  in- 
fluence will  effectuate  the  deftruction  of 
the  frame  of  nature  *  ! 

The  force  with  which  fentiments  in  the 
conduct  of  an  exteniive  plan  imprefs  the 
mind,  depends  upon  circumilances  that 
vary  according  to  the  purpbfe  which  the 
writer  ., hath  ultimately  in  view.  Political 
obfervations  on  the  manners  of  an  age,  are 
flrenuoufly  conveyed  to  the  mind  when 
there  is  nothing  peculiarly  emphatical  in 
the  expreflion,  when  an  enumeration  is 
made  of  the  different  ideas  which  the 
fame  objects  excite  in  men  animated  by 
virtuous  emulation,  or  enervated  by  luxu- 
rious effeminacy. — "  I  have  often  heard 
"  (fays  Salluft)  that  Quintus  Maximus, 
"  Publius  Scipio,  and  other  eminent 
"  members  of  the  republic,  ufed  to  fay, 

- 

"  that  when  they  gazed  upon  the  ftatues 

"  of  their  anceftors,  their  minds  were  mod 

"  vehemently   excited  to  the  practice  of 

"  virtue.    Not  that  the  wax,  or  the  figure 

*  See  particularly  the  two  Dlileriaiions  upon  the 
Deluge,  and  the  Conflagration. 

«  into 


206         Philojbphical  and  Critical 

"  into  which  it  was  moulded,  poflefled  fo 
<c  much  power.  But  the  memory  of  their 
"  illuftrious  adions,  imprinted  by  this 
'*  conveyance  an  idea  fo  forcible  and  per- 
u  manent  upon  the  breafts  of  thefe  great 
"  defendants,  as  never  to  be  effaced  until 
•*  the  fame  virtue  had  rendered  their  fame 
**  as  extenfive,  and  their  glory  equally 
M  complete. — But,  on  the  other  hand,  (con- 
"  tinues  this  hiflorian)  who  is  there  of 
<c  us  all,  tainted  as  we  are  by  corrupted 
44  manners,  whofe  emulation  extends  any 
*6  further  than  to  the  riches  and  magni- 
"  ficence  of  our  anceftors  ?  Probity  and 
"  ac*tion  are  out  of  the  queftion.  Even 
"  men  of  mean  birth,  who  formerly  ac- 
"  quired  diftinguifhed  pre-eminence  by 
*c  their  virtue,  obtain  in  thefe  times  the 
"  firft  dignities  of  the  flate ;  more  by 
"  theft  and  robbery,  than  by  any  com- 
"  mendable  occupation*."  We  have 

here 

•  «'  Szepe  audivi  ego  Quintum  l^laximum,  Publlum 
Scipionem,  pneterea  civitatis  noftras  pra;claros  viros 
folitos  ita  dicere:  quum  majorum  imagines  intueren- 
tur,  vehementilume  animum  fibi  ad  virtutem  accendi : 

fcilicet 


Obfervations  on  Comp^fitkn.       207 

here  a  ftrong  pidure  fet  before  us  of  the 
degenerate  manners  of  the  Romans  in  our 
hiftorian's  age.  The  particular  example 
felected  of  effects  produced  on  the  minds 
of  men  in  his,  and  in  a  former  age,  from 
viewing  the  ftatues  of  their  predeceflbrs,  is 
happily  chofen  for  this  end ;  and  without 
any  exterior  ornament  of  diclion,  conveys 
a  more  forcible  idea  of  a  people  univer- 
fally  emafculated  by  luxury,  than  the  pomp 
of  rhetorical  declamation  could  ever  have 
prefented. — Let  us  hear  Demofthenes  on 
the  fame  fubjed. — "  It  is  not  (fays  he) 
"  furprifmg  that  a  warlike,  active,  inde- 
w  fatigable  prince,  (Philip)  mould  conquer 
"  a  people  who  are  fufpended  and  irre- 
"  folute.  I  wonder  not  at  this.  It  would 


fcilicet  non  ceram  illam  neque  figuram  tantam  vim  is 
fcfe  habere:  fed  memoria  rerum  geftarum  earn  fiam- 
inam  egregiis  viris  in  pe&ore  crefcere,  neque  prius 
fedari  quani  virtus  eorum  famam  atque  gloriam  adae- 
quaverit.  At  contra,  quis  eft  omnium  his  moribus 
quin  divitiis  &  fumptibus,  non  probitate  neqwe  induf- 
tria  cum  majoribus  fuis  contendat  ? — Etiam  homines 
novi  qui  per  virtutem  foliti  erant  nobilitatem  ante- 
venire,  furtim,  &  per  latrocinia  potius  quam  bonis 
artibus  ad  imperia  &  honores  nituntur."  Saluft.  Ju- 
gurth.  in  proem. 

«  be 


2t>S          Pliihfophicd  and  Critical 

"  be  furprifing,  indeed,  if  you,  who  do 
"  nothing  in  war,  ihould  conquer  an 
"  enemy  who  is  attentive  to  all  its  opera- 
"  rations.  This,  Athenians,  is  aftonifhing, 
u  that  you,  who  once  attacked  the  people 
**  of  Lacedaemon  in  defence  of  the  liberty 
"  of  Greece  ;  who  generoufly  transferred 
"  to  others  thofe  emoluments  which  you 
<c  might  have  detained  for  your  own  ufe  ; 
"  that  you,  in  fhort,  who  braved  with 
"  fuch  intrepidity  the  dangers  of  war  in 
"  their  caufe,  fhould  now  exert  yourfelves 
**  fo  indolently  in  your  own  !  that  having 
"  rifked  every  thing  formerly  to  fave 
"  others,  you  now  behold  your  own  li- 
*'  berty,  and  your  own  pofleffions,  in  the 
<l  moft  imminent  hazard,  and  are  doing 
"  nothing  to  preferve  them  *."  In  thefe 

examples 


Ou  Sn  SaLVfAZTtov  ;r<v  ci  r£2Trjetmo;,  xai 
xxi  araipuv  (?  avouri     x<xt 


0/XWf     JUEAXOVTttf,      XJtl      l 

xai     sn^avoufvav    tftci'ijtTai.      Qv 


rxro  ryu.-*—tsvo&Tu>v    <ytx.o   n»      'au^arcv    n 

TOIf     T3-oAl/^»(T*     ^Ofl-»!Xf»      Tl/ 
.*  IXclVO 


•  V? 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       209 

Examples  .  we  obferve  and  are  imprefled 
wholly  by  the  fentiment,  which  acquires 
fuch  ilrength  from  the  comparifon  here  car- 
ried on,  as  muft  have  been  felt  univerfally, 
whatever  exprefiion  had  been  felected  to 
convey  it.  The  correfpondence  of  this  laft 
circumftanceJs  an  improvement  to  which 
we  attend  afterwards  with  fatisfaction, 
when  we  obferve  the  propriety  with  which 
embellifhment  of  every  kind  is  avoided  in 
it,  as  the  effect  of  fo  forcible  and  intereft- 
ing  an  application  muft  at  leaft  have  been 
weakened  by  fuch  an  attempt,  if  not  in  a 
great  meafure  fuperfeded. 

In  the  conduct  of  philofophical  invefti- 
gation  a  thought  acquires  ftrength,  and 
the  impreflion  made  by  it  is  rendered  dur- 


p.tv   -store  u  Avff         vauoi  VTTIO  ruy 
EAAHNIKIiN  AIKAIIiN  avTrn,  x«» 


ivx 

ci  aAAot  •iv/jijG'i  ruv  (Jixat^i*   r»  vftfTtoz  avrw 
xm     £«<r!p^c>Tff,      xa<     w^oix^^vtuiTf 

o/.V£«T£   c^icvat,   xat  /ueAAm   ncr^i^en   vireg  rcav 


HANTAZ,  xa*  xa9'  txaycv  iv  jufffi.  Ta 
ft  TMETEPA  aurwK  a7roAwA»!XOTf,'  xa6r,«r9«.  AH- 
MOZQ.  OAuufiia,  xf(p.  /3. 

VOL.  II.  P  able 


2io         fhilofophicat  and  Critical 

able  when  its    energy  is  difplayed   in   £ 
climax  juftly  conftituted,  the  parts  of  which 
are  diftindl:,  and  the  procedure   rational. 
A  frivolous  queftion  connected  remotely 
with  fuch  a  thought,  but  whofe  nature  has 
not    been    fufficiently   comprehended,    Is 
fhown  likewife  in  a  clearer  and  ftronger 
light,  by  being  fimply  repeated  after  hav- 
ing carried  on  fuch  a  reprefentation,  than 
by  any   other"   method   adopted    for   this 
purpofe.     It  is  difficult  to  feparate  upon 
many   occafions,    quefiions   that   minifter 
wholly  to  curiofity,  from  fuch  as  tend  to 
convey  real  information ;  and  even  when 
this  diftinclion  Is  made,  the  former  muft 
be  placed  in  a  very  confpicuous  point  of 
view,  in  order  to  deter  men  ftimulated  by 
a  powerful  paffion  from  engaging  in  en- 
quiries that  can  be  brought  to  no  fatif- 
fa&ory  conclufion,    though  the  mind  is 
flattered  in  a  very  different  manner  when 
thefe  are  firft  fet  before  it.     How  many 
profound  metaphyfieal  fpeculations  of  no 
emolument  to   the  reader,    who   receives 
difguft  inftead  of  inftrudion  from  their 
perufal,  and  of  great  detriment  to  the  au- 
thor, 


Obferijatlons  on  Compofition.       ill 

thor,  who,  by  launching  beyond  his  depth, 
has  made  no  other  difcovery  than  the  de1- 
fect  of  his  own  underftanding ;  how  many 
of  thefe  might  have  been  avoided,  had  the 
perfons  employed  in  them  felt  the  effect 
of  the  following  nervous  reafoning  of  the 
Roman  philofopher^  which  mows  the  fri- 
volous nature  of  the  fubjeds  that  have  fo 
long  engrofled  their  attention  !   After  hav- 
ing, in  general,  obferved  of  the  mind,  that 
whatever    fubftance  that   is  which   feels, 
thinks,   lives,   and  animates  the  body,  it 
mufi  be  celeftial,  and  confequently  eternal ; 
he  illuftrates  his  reafoning  by  faying,  that 
even  the  Deity  himfelf  we  conceive  only 
to  be  a  Being  difengaged  from  all  mate- 
rial obftruction,  endowed  with  a  principle 
of  eternal  motion,  which  he  communicates 
to  all  things.     Of  this  kind  (fays  he)  and 
of  the  fame  nature  is  the  human  mind. — 
"  But  (replies  fome  minute  enquirer)  where 
"  is  this  mind,  and  what  is  it  after  all  ? — • 
u  Apply  (fays  our  illuftrious  philofopher) 
"  thefe  queftions  to  thy  own  foul. — Canft 
"  thou  anfwer  them  ? — No. — But  becaufe 
11  I   have    not   received   every   faculty   I 
p  2  would 


212         Philofophical  and  Critical 

"  would  wijh  to  poiTefs,  doft  thou,  there- 
"  fore,  forbid  me  to  make  life  of  fuch  as 
'**  are  really  conferred  on  me  ? — What  the 
"  mind  perceives  not,  its  own  form  or 
appearance  is  of  leaft  confequence.  It 
perceives,  undoubtedly,  at  all  times 
ftrength,  fagacity,  memory,  action,  ce- 
lerity.-—Thefe  objects  are  great,  divine, 
"  eternal.  After  knowing  thus  much 
"  of  its  nature,  queftions  that  regard  its 
"  countenance,  and  place  of  refidence,  are 
"  not  worth  an  anfwer  *." 

In  this  noble  paflage  the  author  diftin- 
guifheth,  with  true  philofophical  fagacity, 
the  ufeful  from  the  trifling  and  abfurd  in 
an  enquiry  of  the  greateft  importance; 
and  by  a  climax  well-conducted,  when  he 
enforceth  the  firfl  mentioned  objects  (haec 


*  "  Ubi  igitur,  &  qualis  eft  ilia  mens? — Ubi  tua 
&  qualis  ?-—  Potefne  dicere  ?  An  fi  omnia  ad  intelli- 
gendum  non  habeo  quae  habere  vellem  ;  ne  his  quidem 
.quae  babeo  mihi  per  te  uti  licebit  ? — Non  videt  animus 
quod  minimum  eft  fuam  formam. — Vim  certe  faga- 
citatem,  raemoriam,  motus,  celeritatem  videt.  Haec 
magna,  brec  divina,  hiec  fempiterna  funt. — Qua  facie 
quidem  fit,  aut  ubi  babitet  ne  quaerendum  quidem 
;cft."  Tufcul.  Difput.  lib.  i.  cap.  28. 

magna, 


Obfervations  on  Compofiti'm.       213 

magna,  hsec  divina,  hsec  fempiterna  funt) 
imprefleth  as  powerfully  upon  the  mind  a 
conviction  of  their  utility,  as  of  the  frivo- 
lous nature  of  the  others  rendered  more 
confpicuous  by  being  placed  in  oppofition. 
Uniting,  therefore,  the  diftincl:  characters 
of  a  philofopher  and  an  orator,  he  forcibly 
inculcates  thofe  truths  as  an  eloquent 
writer,  which  as  a  philofopher  he  difcerned 
to  have  importance. 

II.  Thus  far  we  have  confidered  the 
character  of  juft  Compofition,  here  ex- 
amined, as  influencing  various  kinds  of 
fentiment,  when  unaccompanied  with  any 
uncommon  energy  of  diction,  or  ftrength 
of  illuftration.  When  thefe  laft  concur 
with  the  former,  as  well  in  difpoiition  as 
in  degree,  the  combination  is  perfect,  and 
is  known  by  the  vigour  and  permanence 
of  its  impreffion.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
a  fentiment  ftrongly  conceived  commu- 
nicates a  correfponding  emphafis  to  ex- 
preffion  at  all  times,  in  the  fame  manner 
as  a  paffion  powerfully  excited,  gives 
ardor  and  vivacity  to  the  countenance. 
In  certain  inftances,  when  a  detail  becomes 
P  3  deeply 


214         Philofophtcal  and  Critical 

deeply  interefting,  and  when  an  addrefe 
is  pointed  to  the  heart,  no  art,  unlefs  it  U 
very  refined,  ought  (as  we  have  already 
fhown  *)  to  be  made  ufe  of.  A  few  fim- 
pie  words,  juft  infpired  by  the  occafion, 
produce  the  full  effect  to  be  brought  about 
in  fuch  circumftances  as  thefe ;  and  an  at- 
tempt to  amplify  or  illuflrate,  would  either 
weaken  or  fubvert  it.  A  man,  feeling 
the  prefiure  of  fome  great  affliction,  will 
make  ufe  of  few  words.  But  the  two  ex- 
tremes of  perfect  indifference,  or  abfolute 
defpair,  adopt  none  at  all.  A  mafterly 
writer,  therefore,  will  in  the  firft  cafe  em- 
ploy few  ftrokes,  though  thefe  fignificant 
and  ftrongly  expreffive.  In  conducting  a 
paffion  to  the  laft  excefs,  he  will  know 
that  all  defcription  hath  a  boundary  af- 
figned  to  it ;  and  by  acting  like  the 
painter,  who  gave  various  expreflions  to 
the  perfons  attending  the  facrifice  of  Iphir 
genia,  but  veiled  the  face  of  her  father, 
he  will  finim  a  picture  incomparably  more 
animated  in  fuch  inftances,  than  Ian-? 
guage  and  images  could  make  out. 

•  Vol.  I.  feft.  vii.    Note. 

But 


Obftryatiom  on  Compqfition.       215 

But  thefe  obfervations  relating  to  a  few 
particular  and  very  fmgular  cafes,  though 
they  could  not  with  any  propriety  have 
been  omitted,  yet  have  no  weight  when 
referred  to  the  more  ufual  fubjects  of 
-Compofition,  in  which  thoughts  that  are 
recommended  intrinfically  rather  by  their 
life  than  their  novelty,  and  which  though 
approved  by  the  power  of  underftanding, 
yet  imprefs  but  flight!  y  .that  of  memory 
when  retailed  in  unornamented  expreflioa, 
acquire  peculiar  fignificance  by  being  con- 
veyed in  emphatical  language,  or  prefled 
home  by  appropriated  and  finking  illuf- 
tration.  It  is  principally  by  means  of  this 
energy,  communicated  to  they?y/<?  of  Com- 
pofition, that  the  two  arts  of  eloquence 
and  poetry  make  impreflions  more  vigo- 
rous and  permanent  than  any  other.  Nor 
ought  the  advantages  derived  from  this 
circumftance  to  be  coniidered  by  the  dif- 
paffionate  philofopher,  as  even  of  fecon- 
tlary  confeqtience,  far  lefs  .as  frivolous 
.and  unneceifary.  If  we  allow  that  he  is 
±he  mod  ufeful  member  of  iociety,  whofe 
thoughts  by  being  ftrenuoully  inculcated 
P  4  are 


216         Philofophical  and  Critical 

are  moft  univerfally  ufeful,  a  man  who  Is 
capable  in  this  manner  of  effectuating  fuch 
a  purpofe  is  in  every  valuable  fenfe  pre-» 
ferable  to  him  whofe  fentiments,  however 
excellent  in  themfelves,  are  enervated  by 
feeble  expreflion,  of  rendered  dry  by  being 
defectively  illuftrated. 

It  is  univerfally  acknowledged,  that  ge- 
nius never  commands  admiration  more  pow- 
erfully than  when  it  is  employed  in  giving 
fuch  fignificance  to  an  ufeful  precept^  or 
common  fentiment,  as  by  feizing  the  fa- 
culty  of    imagination   makes   a    durable 
impreffion    upon   that    of    remembrance. 
When  a  thought  is  truly  fublime,  or  is 
flrongly  marked  by  its  originality,  we  ex- 
peel:  to  meet  with  a  correfponding  energy 
in  the  diction,  and  look  upon  this  as  a 
neceflary  accompaniment.     But  the  mind 
exerts  a  creative  energy  that  is  contem- 
plated with  atonifhment  when  we  find  it 
giving  diftinction  to  every  idea  that  falls 
under   its    cognifance ;    and    when    fuch 
thoughts  as  we  have  often  met  with,  and 
have  as  frequently  neglected,  are  improve^ 

by  pafling  through  this  intellectual  alem- 
bic fo  as  to  influence  conduct. 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       217 

In  order  to  produce  the  purpofes  here 
mentioned,  it  ought  by  no  means  to  be 
confidered  as  neceflary,  that  we  make  ufe, 
upon  all  occafions,  of  the  figures  or  idioms 
of  poetry.     Thefe,   it  is  no  doubt  true, 
when  adapted  to  their  objects  with  pro- 
priety, contribute  as  much  as  any  other 
means  to  accomplim  it  effectually.  Though 
an  important  expedient,   however  this  is 
not  an  only  one,  and  its  ufe,  though  in- 
difpenfable   upon   fome  occafions,  would 
be   unfuitable   in  many  cafes,    and  inju- 
dicious.    Thoughts,   when  confidered  as 
forming  in  various  combinations  the  parts 
of  a  comprehenfive  plan  to  be  detailed  in 
Compofition,    will   -naturally    be    viewed 
either  as  fupporting  each  other  in  a  con- 
nected feries  when  the  argumentation  is 
clofely  carried  on,    or  as   ftanding  more 
loofe  and  detached,  when  a  queftion  may 
require  to  be  illuftrated,  and  to  be  expofed 
in  a  variety  of  lights.     In  the  firft  cafe,  it 
is  requifite,  above  all  other  circumftances, 
in   order   to    convey    each    of   thefe    as 
ftrongly  as  poffible  to  the  mind,  that  the 

author 


2i8         Phiiofophical  and  Critical 

author  fhould  make  ufe  of  as  few  words 
as  may  be  confiftent  with  that  perfpicuity 
which  ought  to  be  his  ultimate  aim.  Me- 
taphors he  may  and  ought  to  adopt,  be- 
caufe  thefe,  when  well  applied,  render  an 
argument  clear  and  forcible  at  the  fame 
time.  But  while  he  is  not  fparing  of  this 
figure,  a  judicious  writer  will  ftudy  to  ufe 
it  in  the  prefent  inftance,  only  when  the 
idea  thus  enforced  would  have  otherwife 
been  obfcure,  or  fo  unimportant  as  not  to 
have  fixed  attention  *.  Nor  is  it  injurious 

to 

*  I  know  no  work,  either  ancient  or  modern,  in 
which  the  figure  here  recommended  is  introduced 
with  greater  force  and  propriety  than  in  the  excellent 
work  of  Quintijian,  to  which  we  have  fo  frequently 
referred.  This  admirable  critic,  feems  to  have  under- 
ilood  thoroughly  both  their  nature  and  their  ufe  in 
Compofition.  We  have  already  confidered  his  defini- 
tion of  a  metaphor,  and  have  fhown  its  juftnefs. 
In  the  futh  chapter  of  his  eighth  boojc,  the  curious 
reader  will  find  him  treating  this  fubjeet  at  great 
length,  and  illuftrating  his  remarks  by  numerous 
examples.  To  this,  therefore,  we  refer  him.  Let 
us  only  obferve,  how  juftly  he  has  himfelf  exem- 
plified his  own  rules.  He  fays  of  this  figure  in  gene- 
raj,  that  when  admitted  properly  into  Compofition  it 

conveys 


Obfervations  on  Compaction.       219 

to  the  reputation  of  any  author,  however 
eminent,  to  affirm,  that  in  a  work  of 
length,  particularly  of  the  argumentative 
kind,  many  fuch  ideas  muft  neceiTarily  be 
admitted.  In  the  proof  of  every  hypo- 
thelis,  however  paradoxical,  the  principles 
to  which  the  mind  originally  recurs  in 
order  to  eftablifh  a  conclufion,  muft  be 
fuch  as  are  univerfally  intelligible;  and 

conveys  an  idea  more  forcibly  than  the  words  in  whofe 
room  it  is  placed.     "  Metaphora  plus  valere  debet  eo 
quod  expellit."    Inflit.  lib.  ii.  c.  3.     He  mentions  it 
likewife  as  a  means  to  render  an  objedl  clear  and  intel- 
ligible.   Lib.  viii.  cap.  6.     Among  many  other  paf- 
fages  of  his  work,  which  might  here  be  adduced  as 
proofs  of  the  conformity  that  takes  place  betwixt  his 
rules  and  his  practice,  the  following,  in  which  both 
purpofes  are   accomplifhed   at   once,    is  remarkable. 
"  Nee  mirum  (fays  he,  fpeaking  of  the  action  of  an 
orator)  fi  efta  quze  tamen  in  aliquo  funt  pofita  motu 
tantum  in  animis  valent,  quum  pi£hira  tacens  opus,  & 
habitus  femper  ejufdem  fie  in  intimos  penetret  affe£tus, 
ut  ipfam  vim  dicendi  nonnunquam  fuperare  videatur.*' 
Inftit.  lib.  xi.  cap.  3.     Nothing  can  be  more  appro- 
priated and  forcible,  than  the  language  and  illuftration 
employed  here.     How  vividly  is  the  mind  imprefTed 
•with  the  effect  arifing  from  the  real  aflion  of  a  con- 
fummate  orator,  perpetually  varying  when  it  recollects 
the  impreflion  made  upon  it  by  one  fingle  attitude 
imitated  in  painting ! 

he, 


220         Phllofophlcal  and  Critical 

he,  who  in  a  pHilofophical  difquifitioti 
calculated  perhaps  upon  the  whole  to  let 
in  new  light  upon  the  mind,  fhould  ex- 
pect to  be  entertained  by  the  novelty  of 
thefe  contemplated  feparately  without  re- 
gard to  the  ultimate  purpofe,  would  form 
an  expectation  that  can  never  be  gratified. 
It  is  not  fo  much  to  the  firft  principles 
laid  down  (which  cannot  be  too  fimple 
and  obvious)  that  we  attend,  as  to  their 
difpofition  and  tendency  to  effectuate  a 
certain  end.  As  we  are  apt,  however,  to 
be  fatigued  by  following  out  thefe  at 
length,  which  make  of  themfelves  no  very 
ftrong  impreffion,  it  is  of  great  confe- 
quence  to  an  author,  that  his  diction  be 
rendered  peculiarly  emphatical  in  this  cafe, 
by  a  choice  of  fignificant  wprds,  and  by 
the  beauty  of  expreffive  metaphors  hap- 
pily interwoven  (if  we  may  thus  term  it) 
in  the  compofition,  that  thefe  may  be  read 
with  attention,  and  recollected  with  fa- 
cility. 

We  have,  in  a  former  fedtion,  adduced 
an  example  of  Compofition,  diftinguifhed 

at 


Obfervations  on  Compojition.        221 

at  the  fame  time  by  ftrength  and  fimplicity 
in  hiftorical  narration  *.     It  is  difficult  to 
illuftrate,  in"  the  fame  manner,  our  obferv- 
ations   on    the    moft    proper   method   of 
rendering  expreflion  nervous  in  the  con- 
duel:  of  an  argumentative  detail;  becaufe 
fuch  examples,  in  .order  to  be  complete, 
would  run  into  too  great  length.    Obferve, 
however,    in    what   manner    one   of  the 
greateft  mailers  of  language,  among  the 
ancients,  at  the  fame  time  elucidates  and 
enforceth  a  maxim  by  no  means  remark- 
able  for   its   novelty ;    but  rendered  ex- 
tremely fo  by  the  expreffive  words  that  are 
felecled   to  convey  it.     Speaking  of  the 
perfons  that  are  bell  qualified  for  the  pur- 
pofe  of  education,  our  author  fays, — "  In- 
primis   evitandus,  &  in  pueris  praecipue 
magifter  aridus,  non  minus  quam  teneris 
adhuc  plantis  ficcum  &  fine  humoie  ullo 
folum.     Inde  fiunt  humiles  ftatim  &  velut 
terram  fped:antes  qui  nihil  fupra  quotidi- 
anum  fermonem  attollere  audeant. — Ma- 
cies  illis  pro  fanitate,  &  judicii  loco  infir- 

*  Book  II.  feft.  \l 

mitas 


mmJ  Critical 
mini  ne  maturites  epi** 

JBBwl  XCBEDCt*  HOC  JBUftwl  Mi  JyTl  uXtUA 

"A 

iLc.4* 


It  is  by  metapfaon  dun  Inppilj  fafended 
witk  tbc  dMK^te,  and  coaJrfdng  wiA  it,  as 
it 


andL%mficu!Li;  aztd  ^*c  ne  kd  to  ad- 


dm  dttpgBftiap  talcot,  in  die  ex- 
of  thcfc  Toy  ideas  wfatdi  in  a 
acc£vefled  of  k  would  be  deemed 


infigoiiicant.    In  many  cafes, 
r,  k  is  no  doubt  neither  proper 
indeed  pn&kable  to  ptdcive  this 

-"       ~~    r -  a*        il.,|»       -     ••  _       **-_ 

mcmBy  paiiiiimtiy  wnen  a  lew 
troths  arc  laid  down  in  the  Ian- 
wholly  onornamrntcd  as  the  bans 
of  an  hji«dbcfis-    The  fiaeft  method  of 


k  to  make  vie  of  as  fcwurordi 


not  aMbbUeiy 

A  ~£  «        f  ___  f 

/v  wutGi  of  good,  lenie  never 
4ttmn  this  qoafitjinore  obrioofly,  than 
by  appearing  always  to  know  when  he1 
has  joft  Jaad  enough.  Rednndant  epithet 

(H 


Qlfcrcatwiu  on  Camfqf&g.       223 

he  will  fhun,  as  enervating  what  it  is  ap- 
plied Co  ftrengthen,  and  declamation  as 
relaxing  attention,  which  is  kept  op  by 
obferving  the  end  of  a  certain  refearch, 
advancing  nearer  as  we  proceed,  and  more 
as  it  were,  within  our  reach.  A  fubjcd, 
treated  upon  thefc  principles,  will  pjeafe 
by  coherence,  when  not  diftinguHhed  by 
vigour  of  fentiment ;  and  language,  where 
it  cannot  obtain  the  character  of  remark- 
able force,  will  yet  have  ugnincance  by 
gaining  that  of  propriety. 

Thus  far  we  have  conGdered  the  fub- 
je€t  of  this  (edition,  as  improving  the  effect 
of  fentiments  that  {land  in  dofe  connec- 
tion, and  appear  with  the  greateft  poffiblc 
advantage  in  confequence  of  well-adapted 
expreffion. 

When  the  former,  however,  either  have 
greater  energy  themielves,  or  admit  in 
certain  inftances  of  more  copious  and  for- 
cible illuftradbn,  a  defect  of  ilrength  in 
the  llyle  of  an  author  s  Compofition  be- 
comes couipicuous,  in  proportion  as  its 
prevalence  is  required  as  expedient  or  ne— 
ceflary.  This  cb?m^«^  of  die  art,  as 

appro- 


224         Phtiofophical  and  Critical 

appropriated  more  particularly  to  one  fpe- 
cies  of  it  than  to  another,  and  conftituted 
by  different  means  when  the  objects  vary 
to  which  it  is  applied,  we  fhall  have  occa- 
fion  afterwards  to  examine.  Some  ge- 
neral obfervations  on  thefe  at  prefent,  it 
may  here  be  proper  to  introduce. 

i.  It  was  formerly  remarked,  when  we 
treated  of  the  grand  in  Compofition,  that 
an  object  is  often  rendered  fublime  by  an 
happy  difpofition  of  fome  preceding  cir- 
cumftances  *.  This  we  then  attempted 
to  confirm  by  examples.  But  the  arrange- 
ment of  previous  ideas,  though  it  will 
fhow  us  in  any  work  whatever  at  what 
time  the  thought  ought  to  have  ftrength, 
and  the  diction  correfponding  energy ;  and 
in  confequence  of  this  difcovery  will  make 
us  immediately  -fenfible  when  either  or 
both  is  deficient,  yet  imparts  not  vigour 
as  in  the  preceding  inftance  it  may  do 
fublimity  to  an  object.  Yet  by  raifing  our 
expectations,  it  renders  us  particularly 
confcious  of  that  weaknefs  in  the  mind  of 

"ift  Sed.  v. 

an 


Obfervations  oh  Compofition.       22- 

an  author  to  which  we  owe  a  difappoint- 
ment.  Thus  a  philofopher  expofmg  the 
futility  of  an  objection,  an  hiftorian  re- 
lating a  defperate  engagement,  an  orator 
fumming  up  his  various  arguments  in  an 
appeal  required  to  be  pointed,  particular, 
and  forcible ;  thefe  gratify  our  hope  in- 
deed, when  they  acquit  themfelves  pro- 
perly; but  it  is  not  to  the  difpofition  of 
preceding  circumftances  that  either  the 
thought  or  expreflion  owes  its  energy. 
It  is  wholly  to  the  real  force  of  the  one, 
and  to  the  correfponding  propriety  of  the 
other,  both  which  we  examine  apart. 
The  fentiments  of  Socrates,  therefore, 
communicated  to  his  judges  after  he  had 
been  condemned  to  drink  the  hemlock* 
acquire  mblimity  from  his  peculiar  fitua- 
tion.  We  confider  this  circumftance,  and 
pronounce  thefe  to  be  exalted.  But  when 
we  come  to  examine  the  force  of  his  rea- 
foning,  and  the  words  he  makes  ufe  of  as 
juftly  or  unequally  adapted,  it  is  quite  an- 
other matter.  We  drop  immediately  every 
thought  of  his  lltuation,  and  are  impreffed 
only  by  the  objects  then  contemplated. 
VOL.  II.  Q  !t 


226          Philefophical  and  Critical 

It  ought  likewife  to  be  obferved,  thac 
the  fubliraity  which  owes  its  origin  to  a 
certain  arrangement  of  previous  incidents 
admits  of  degrees.     It  is  true,  indeed,  that 
we  expect  the  thoughts   as  well   as  the 
conduct  of  a  great  mind  tried  with   ad- 
verfity,  to  be  dignified  and  confident.    But 
Should  thefe  (the  former  particularly)  be 
noble,   though   not    aftonifhing,   we   ftill, 
with    truth,    denominate    them    fublime^ 
It  is  otherwife  when  we  confider  vigour 
of  intellect,  as  indicated  by  certain  ideas,- 
conveyed  with  fuitable   emphafis  of  lan- 
guage.   When  an  expectation  of  this  kind 
is  once  raifed,  the  leaft  failure  in  gratifying 
it  is  deemed  to  be  a  weaknefs.     The  phi- 
lofopher,  hiftorian,  or  orator,  who  fhould 
fail   to   exert   feme  part   of  that  energy 
which  his  'fubject    might  neceflarily  de- 
mand, or  the  reader  expect  from  his  man- 
ner of  conducting  it,  would  be  deemed' 
unequal  to  the  tafk  he  had  undertaken  to 
execute,  and  difqualified  to  rife  with  be- 
coming vigour  to  his  work. — Let  us  try 
an  example. 

When 

n 


Observations  on  Compofition.       227 

"When  liberates  has  endeavoured  to 
perfuade  Philip,  in  the  oration  addrefied 
to  this  monarch,  to  bring  about  a  general 
good  undemanding  among  the  ftates  of 
Greece,  with  whom  at  that  time  he  was 
living  in  amity,  we  expect  that  he  will 
immediately  propofe  fome  motive  of  pow- 
erful efficacy,  to  make  him  follow  an  ad- 
monition apparently  fo  contrary  to  his 
intereir*  But  inftead  of  meeting  with  any 
thing  of  this  kind  at  the  time  we  naturally 
look  for  it,  —  after  having  told  him,  that 
by  following  the  counfel  he  had  given  him, 
l<  he  would  at  the  fame  time  conciliate  the 
"  Greeks,  and  terrify  the  Barbarians  *," 
our  author  makes  a  florid  and  elaborate 
panygeric  on  himfelf,  who,  in  thinking 
rightly,  and  in  directing  to  proper  and 
honourable  means,  is  inferior,  he  informs 
us,  to  no  man  whatever  \.  —  Every  reader 

muft 


*   Hv  T 

tarn  tzriro??  TOJJ   Si  (3Ap£apo»?  (poSipos.     IIOK. 

$lA»7T.    AO}'. 

f  To  di  ^aiifiv  tu,  xai  Tffnro(.i$tvi<r§<zi  xaAwf  \ti  xoti 


228         Phtlofophical  and  Critical 

muft  be  fenfible  that  there  is  great  weak- 
nefs  in  this  condudl.     It  anfwers  no  pur- 

pofc 


tv    TOK   «7roX£X£J|w.|i*£K>»f,    aAA    ft 
T0»f  sro£xoy<r»  TOJV  aXXwv.    M.  ibid.    This  diicourfe  of 


Ifocrates  has,  I  know,  been  greatly  applauded  in  ge- 
neral ;  and  one  of  the  bcft  ancient  critics,  Dionyfius 
Halicarnafleus,  recommends  it  as  proper  to  be  read- 
by  princes,   to  inflil  into  tkeir    hearts   the    love    of 
virtue.     The  tendency  of  fome  excellent  moral  ob- 
fervations  in  it  to  promote  this  purpofe,   we  (hail  by 
no  means  difpute.    It  is  only  cenfured  here  as  a  Com- 
pofuion  defective  in  ftrength  of  thought,  and  which, 
finks  at  that  time  when  we  expect  the  mod  vigorous 
and  mafterly  execution.     With  regard  to  the  argu- 
ments by  which  our  author  propofeth  afterwards  to 
convince  Philip  of  the  utility  of  his  propofal,  appofite 
as  thefe  have  been  judged  to  the  accomplishment  of 
this  end,  we  will  not  be  furprifed  upon  reflection, 
that  thefe  made  no  ftrong  impreffion.cn  the  mind  of 
the  Macedonian.'    What  is   his   fcheme    taken  alto- 
gether ?    After  conciliating  the;  attachment  of  all  the 
Greek  cities  by  offices  of  friendfhip,  he  exhorts  this 
prince  to  march  into   Afia,  and  fubdue  the  Peifian 
nation.     But  this,  furdy,  was  not  a  plan  likely  to  be 
prolecutecl  by  Philip,  who  knew  well  that  as  long  as 
Greece  itfelt   was  left  unfubdued,  no  profeffions  of 
alliance  from  that  quarter  were  to  be  depended  upon. 
Jealous  of  its  liberty,  and  of  the  ambition  of  this  enter- 
prifing  prince,  Greece  he  was  well  aware  would  have 
obflructed  inftead  of  forwarding  his  defign,  as  expect- 
ing, like  the  moufe  in  the  fable,   that  after  having 
devoured  the  greater  objects,  the  leffer  would  fall  an 


Obfervations  on  Composition.        229 

pofe  but  that  of  exciting  difguft,  and  of 
prejudicing  us,  as  we  have 'obferved  him 
to  do  in  a  former  inllance,  againft  every 
thing  he  afterwards  advanceth  on  the  fub- 
ject.  Strength  of  intellect  (however  con- 
fpicuouily  a  character  may  be  marked  by 
vanity)  will  'upon  fuch  an  occafion  be  dif- 

eafy  prey  to  his  rapacity.     His  infincerity  was  too  well 
-known  to  make  his  promifes  be  regarded  as  of  any 
confequence.      Philip,    therefore,    purfued   a   much 
better  plan  than  that  propofed  to  him  here  by  Ifocrates : 
which  was,  to  put  it  beyond  the  power  of  his  ene- 
mies  at   home  to   give  him   difturbance,  before  he 
thought  of  carrying  the  war  into  a  foreign  empire. 
The  events  that  fell  out  upon  the  death  of  this  great 
prince,  after  he  had  effectuated  this  purpofe,  clearly 
fhow  us  what  .meafures  the  ftates  of  Greece  would 
have  adopted  had  he  left  them  at  liberty  by  marching 
{boner  Into  Afia.     Debilitated  as  they  they  were,  they 
forgot  in  a  moment  the  lofs  of  Cheronxa,  and  the 
fame  people  who  had  chofen  Philip  their  generaliffimo, 
took  arms  againft  Alexander.     Should  it  be  foid  that 
the  Greeks  had  at  laft  been  driven  by  fprce.to  take  that 
conrfe  with  regard  to  the  former,  which  they  might 
formerly  have  adopted  from  choice;    I  have  already 
fhown  that  this  u-ould  never  have  been  the  cafe,  from 
their  opinion   of  this  man's  infincerity.     Thefe  re- 
marks,  though    foreign    to   the  prefent   fubjecl,   the 
author  hopes  that  his  -readers  will  excufe,  as  being 
naturally  fuggefted  by  the  mention  of  this  celebrated 
oration. 

covered 


230  .       Philofophical  and  Critical 

covered  by  ftrenuous  argumentation,  and 
by  motives  (whether  conclufive  or  not,) 
yet  enforced  as  powerfully  as  the  nature 
of  the  fubjed:  wouhd  admit. 

The  proof  adduced  here  of  intellectual 
debility,  exhibits  it  principally  as  influ- 
encing the  fentiment  and    conduct  of  a 
difcourfe.     We  obferve  it  to  take  place  in 
the   didion,    more  particularly  when  an 
author,    after    having    acquitted    himfelf 
properly    in    conducting    the    fubordinate 
branches  of  his   theme,  fails  juft  at  the 
moil  important  crifis  of  ufmg  that  "  ver- 
bum  ardens,"  that  language  full  of  energy, 
by  which  we  then  expe£b  his  Compofition 
to  be  diftinguimed  in  all  cafes,  or  thofc 
pi&urefque   and   animated   images  which 
ought  more  particularly  to  predominate  in 
the  fpheres  of  eloquence  and  poetry.     It 
would  be  endlefs  to  adduce  examples  in 
proof  of  this  remark,  as  the  reader  of  tafte 
may  collect  many  for  himfelf,  both  from 
ancient  and  modern   performances.     We 
may  obferve,  however,  that  the  difpofition 
of  previous  circumftances  prevents  us  from 
being  pleafed,  even  with  moderate  execu- 
tion 


Obfirvations  on  Compofition.       23  i 

tion  at  fuch  a  time,  becaufe  from  thefe  we 
have  naturally  been  led  to  expect  fome- 
thing  higher.  When  after  having  brought 
his  argument  to  a  period,  a  philofopher 
comes  to  place  the  whole  in  one  confiftent 
fummary  before  the  mind  ;  when  after 
having  expofed  the  falfhood  of  a  plaufible 
representation,  he  proceeds  to  examine  its 
confequences,  we  confider  him  as  deficient 
in  ftrength  of  conception  and  of  feeling, 
whofe  ideas  are  not  then  conveyed  with 
iuch  emphafis  as  produceth  at  once  a  very 
fenfihle  and  permanent  effect.  The  fame 
remark  may  be  applied  to  the  hiftorian, 
whofe  indignation  wre  fuppofe  to  be  roufed 
,by  having  recorded  an  infamous  tranf- 
action ;  and  in  fimilar  cafes  .to  the  orator, 
rand  the  poet. 

However,  therefore,  in  certain  circum- 
ftances  that  conduct  may  be  deemed  great 
which  rifeth  not  to  the  wonderful,  yet 
when  ftrength,  either  of  language  or  of 
fentiment,  is  nereiTajtly  required,  we  make 
410  allowance  as  in  the  other  cafe  for  de- 
fect in  either,  which  is  immediately  fup- 
pofcd  tp  indicate  a  mind  whofe  feelings 

arc 


232         Philofophical  and  Critical 

are  weak,  or  whofe  powers  are  dtfpropor- 
tioned  to  their  fubje<3:.     What  is  the  caufe 
for  which  we  judge  fo  differently  of  thefe 
characters  of  Compofition  ? — Upon  recol- 
lection we  (hall  find  it  to  lie  in  the  ends 
which  thefe  propofe  feparately  to  accom- 
plifh. — The  fublime  (we  have  already  feen) 
is    always    directed    to    raife    admiration. 
Whatever  object  excites  this  paffion   we 
contemplate   as   great ;  but  the   imagina- 
tion, which   principally  takes   cognifance 
of  it,  without  being  exalted  to  its  higheft 
fphere,  may  yet  be  raifed  to  a  fuperior 
one,  and  betwixt  the  dignified  that  awakes* 
and  the  aftonifhing  that  holds  it  in  almoft 
viewlefs  exftafy,  there  are  many  degrees 
that  conftitute  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it) 
the    range  of  the  fublime.      Expectation, 
therefore,  even  when  excited  in  the  higheft 
degree,   may  be   in  fome  meafure  difap- 
pointed  when  an  idea  though  not  reach- 
ing  the  firft,    yet  falls   not   beneath  the 
loweft  ftep  of  this  fcale,  and  is  ftill  regarded 
as  noble,  though  by  no  means  aftonifh- 
ingly  exalted. — But   it  is  otherwife  with 
the  nervous  in  Compofitiort,  of  which  the 

heart, 


Obfervations  on  Compofition. 

heart,  not  the  imagination,  decides;  and 
of  whofe  defeat,  when  it  is  expected  emi- 
nently to  predominate,  we  are  rendered 
fenfible  by  feeling.  Here  there  are  no 
other  degrees  than  thofe  that  are  prefcribed 
by  the  nature  of  the  fubjeft.  We  expect 
not,  for  inftance,  that  Plato  fhould  convey 
his  arguments  with  the  fame  energy  with 
which  Homer  fets  before  us  the  deeds  of 
Achilles.  But  when  once  we  are  inter- 
eiled  thoroughly  in  a  queftion,  a  reflection 
that  might  have  fignificance  in  one  con- 
nection, is  wholly  uninterefting  in  an- 
other, and  an  image  of  unqueflioned  energy, 
when  applied  to  fome  circumftances,  will 
be  cenfured  in  others,  as  weak,  and  un- 
appropriated *. 

A 

*  In  conducting  a  work,  compofed  of  very  com- 
plicated members  to  n  period,  to  expec~l  that  equal 
energy  of  mind  fhould  be  difplayed  upon  every  occa- 
fion  when  this  may,  no  doubt,  be  neceflary,  would  be 
idle  and  extravagant.  Of  all  authors  whatever,  Homer 
is  perhaps  the  leaft  defective  of  this  quality  in  general. 
Yet  amidft  that  amazing  variety  of  obje£ls  potirtrayed 
in  the  Iliad,  need  we  wonder  if  we  fometimes  meet 
with  an  image  comparatively  weak  at  leafl,  and  ina- 
dequate to  its  original  ? — One  inftance  of  this  kind 

it 


234          Philofophical  and  Criticai 

A   writer    of    difcernment,    therefore, 
ought  to  be  particularly  cautious,  left  in 

the 

k  may  be  to  the  prefent  purpofe  to  felect.  When 
Achilles,  in  the  twenty-firft  book  of  the  Iliad,  engages 
In  a  combat,  fruitful  of  new  and  aftonifhing  events, 
with  the  river  Scamander,  the  genius  of  the  ftream  is 
reprefented  as  raifing  it  from  the  bottom,  and  attempt- 
ing to  overwhelm  this  formidable  enemy,  by  loading 
his  waves  with  the  carcafes  with  which  he  had 
choaked  up  the  tide.  Achilles  feizeth  a  tree,  born 
down  by  the  current,  and  leaps  from  it  on  the  (hore. 
But  the  god  attafcks  him  on  all  fides.  To  convey  an 
idea  of  the  inundation  burfting  every  where  on  hi« 
head,  Homer  makes  ufe  of  the  following  image* 
*'  As  when  a  labouring  man  brings  a  rill  of  water 
"  from  its  fountain  to  refrefh  his  plants,  and  beautify 
rt  his  garden,  holding  the  line  in  his  hand,  and  clear- 
•*  ing  the  paflage  with  his  fpade,  on  a  fudden  the 
**  Waters  ftreaming  before  him  down  the  declivity 
**  throw  the  pebbles  into  confufion,  and  inflead  of 
'*  following,  go  before  their  leader. — So  with  what- 
**  ever  rapidity  Achilles  flew,  Scamander,  flill  fwifter, 
*'  rolled  his  billows  before  him."  IMAA.  (£>.  a. 
\.  157.  This  illuftration  has  undoubtedly  great 
beauty.  It  gives  an  entertaining  variety  to  tfie  narra- 
tion, and  (what  is  not  always  the  cafe  with  Homer's 
images)  is  adapted  to  its  object  in  every  circumftance. 
But  with  all  thefe  advantages  in  its  favour,  if  it  is 
true  (as  we  have  endeavoured  to  prove  at  fome 
length,  feel,  v.)  that  the  imag&wbich  is  employed  to 
fet  a  great  a£Hon  or  perfonage  fce»re  our  .eyes,  ought 
to  exited  rather  than  fall  (hort  pf  the  original,  we  (hall 

then 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       235 

the  original  choice  of  his  fubjecl  he  (hould 
fix  upon  one  demanding  a  more  ftrenuous 
exertion  of  intellect  than  that  to  which 
his  mind  is  adequate ;  becaufe  there  is  not 
one  among  all  the  characters  of  Compo- 

then  pronounce  this  to  be  defective  as  a  forcible  re- 
prefentation.  For  though  a  ftream  defeating  the  in- 
tention of  the  labourer  who  means  to  fcoop  out  a 
channel  for  it,  by  overflowing  the  grounds  before 
him,  reprefents  to  us  Achilles  furrounded  by  the  Sca- 
mander,  whofe  waves  retarded  his  purfuit  of  the  Tro- 
jans, and  were  before  him  wherever  he  went; — yet 
furely  the  rill  that  waters  a  garden  defeating  the  pur- 
pofe  of  a  hufoandman,  is  an  image  as  difproportioned 
to  the  impetuous  Scamander  guided  by  a  God,  charg- 
ing its  billows  with  heaps  of  dead,  and  breaking  on 
the  head  of  Achilles,  as  the  hufoandman  himfelf 
{landing  with  his  fpade  in  his  hand,  and  feeing  his 
work  overwhelmed  by  the  water,  is  inferior  to  this 
hero  leaping  on  the  ihore,  and  fpringing  at  every 
bound  from  this  divinity  as  far  as  a  warrior  can  throw 
a  fpear. — The  illuftration,  therefore,  is  here  inadequate 
to  its  original  in  point  of  ftrength.  The  circumftances 
of  the  former,  though  beautiful  when  contemplated 
alone,  yet  fhrink  into  nothing  when  placed  in  com- 
parifon  with  the  latter.  Thefe  are  appropriated,  but 
not  pi&urefque.  If,  however,  a  defect  of  this  kind 
can  never  be  excufed,  it  muft  furely  be  pardoned  in 
fuch  a  work  as  the  Iliad,  in  which  an  imagination, 
kept  perpetually  on  the  ftretch,  has  erred  as  feldom  in 
this  way  as  it  ever  did  in  any  cafe,  when  not  guided 

by  infpiration. 

fition, 


236         Phhofophiea!  and  Critical  * 

fition,  whofe  deficiency  is  fooner  obferved, 
even  in  a  flight  degree,  than  this  of  vigo- 
rous execution ;  nor  is  there  any  for  which 
when  once  detected,  a  performance  is  more 
nniverfally  cenfured.     When  our  expecta- 
tion is  carried  to  a  certain  height,  either 
from  the  nature  of  the  theme  itfelf,   or 
from  the  manner  in  which  it  is  conducted, 
we  become  perfectly  fenfible  of  an  author's 
weaknefs,  who,  though  adequate  to  every 
inferior  reprefentation,  falls  off  when  en- 
gaged in  the  mofl  important ;  and  by  fub- 
ftituting    affected,    in    place    of   natural 
energy,  difcovers  the  debility  of  talents 
improperly    exerted,   which    in   a    fphere 
better  adapted  to  their  exercife,  might  have 
been  employed  with  propriety  and  emo- 
lument.     On    the   contrary,    however,    it 
ought  to  be  obferved,   that  as   a  certain 
previous  arrangement  of  ideas  renders  a 
defeit  of  flrength,   either  iri  thought  or 
cxpreffion,  remarkably  perceptible  to  a  man 
of  difcernment,  fo  when  the  execution  is 
adequate  in  this  character  to  the  fubject, 
the  circumflance  above-mentioned  contri- 
butes equally  to  render  us  feniible  of  its 

full 


fibfervations  on  Compcfitlon.       2:7 

full  effect.  .Memory  is  never  more  per- 
manently impreffed,  than  \vhen  expeda- 
tion  is  fuccefsfully  gratified;  and  an  au- 
thor, who  in  the  developement  of  his  plan 
exerts  an  energy  proportioned  to  the  occa- 
fion,  at  the  fame  time  that  he  rifeth  in  his 
reader's  eftimation,  effectuates  a  purpofe 
by  the  fignificance  given  to  every  object:, 
which  the  fame  reprefentation  lefs  ftrenu- 
oufly  enforced,  or  placed  in  another  con- 
nedion  could  never  have  accomplifhed. 

2.  As  a  writer,  therefore,  whofe  corn-^ 
poiition  is  diftinguifhed  as  nervous  or  for- 
cible, may  render  this  character  perfectly 
confpicuous,  by  bringing  on  that  crifis  in 
his  diicourfe  at  which  it  is  required  moft 
particularly  to  predominate;  ib  in  order 
to  preferve  it  univerfally  as  much  as  the 
nature  of  a  fubjed  will  admit,  he  ought 
to  ieled  as  often  as  poflible,  lively  and 
appropriated  illuftrations.  It  would  be 
wholly  ufelefs  to  enlarge  here  upon  theie 
as  communicating  peculiar  energy  to  fen- 
timents,  and  even  rendering  their  influ- 
ence at  fometimes  irrefiflible ;  becaufe  we 
have  .already  difcufled  this  branch  of  our 

fubjecl 


238         Philofophical  and  Critical 

fubjed  at  confiderable  length.  We  {hall 
therefore,  only  obferve  at  prefent,  with 
regard  to  the  jlrength  which  thefe  give  to 
Compofhion,  that  two  things  are  requifite 
to  conftitute  this  character,  ift.  That  the 
image  ihould  either  be  really  ftronger  than 
the  object  to  which  it  is  applied,  or  at 
leaft  fhould  be  fuppofed  .to  exceed  it  in 
this  refped:.  2dly,  That  foreign  or  ad- 
ventitious circumftances,  fhould,  if  poffible, 
be  wholly  avoided  in  the  application,  or 
admitted  as  feparately  as  poffible. 

That  an  illuftration  ought  ufually  to 
exceed  its  original  pattern  in  ftrength,  to 
convey  a  forcible,  as  much  as  in  grandeur 
to  conftitute  a  fublime  reprefentation,  will 
be  acknowledged  upon  the  principles  for- 
merly enumerated.  As  it  is  the  bufmefs 
of  every  writer  to  intereft  his  readers  in 
the  fubject  of  which  he  treats,  thofe  ima- 
ges which  are  called  in  particularly  to  ani- 
mate his  narration,  ought  to  exceed  the 
objects  in  ftrength  which  thefe  are  brought 
to  illuftrate,  in  order  to  fupply,  in  fome 
meafure,  the  lofs  of  ocular  evidence,  to 
which  all  narration  is  inadequate.  When 

an 


Qbferuations  on   Compofition.        239 

an  illuftration,  in  the  fame  manner,  is  ap- 
propriated to  a  fintnnent,  which  in  a  cer- 
tain connection  hath  peculiar  emphafis, 
we  are  fo  far  from  condemning  the  author 
for  mixing  bolder  ftrokes  in  his  illuftra- 
tion than  we  might  conceive  the  original 
to  have  fuggefted,  that  we  look  upon  thefe 
as  indications  of  mafterly  execution.  Thefe 
rules  may  be  deemed  perhaps  at  firft  view 
not  to  be  applicable  to  every  cafe,  and 
therefore  to  be  imperfecl.  A  fentiment 
(it  may  be  faid  with  truth)  fometimes  ac- 
quires great  ftrength  from  an  image  pur- 
pofely  reprefented,  as  inferior  to  its  ori- 
ginal, inftead  of  being  ftronger  or  more 
expreffive.  Thus  in  Sha^efpeare*s  beau- 
tiful Ode, 

Blow,  blovf ,  thou  winter  wind  \ 
Thou  art  not  fo  unkind 
As  roan's  ingratitude,  &c. 

the  two  images  of  "  winter  wind,"  and 
"  biting  froft,"  difficult  as  thefe  are  often 
to  be  fupported,  are  yet  denominated  com- 
paratively light,  when  compared  with  the 
ingratitude  and  inexcufable  negligence  of 
mankind,  the  two  originals  to  which  thefe 

-  -  -  ^ 

cor- 


240          Philofophical  and  Critical 

correfpond.  Yet  the  latter  are  ftrength* 
ened  by  this  companion ;  and  the  whole 
is  incomparably  glowing  and  animated* 
But  a  difcerning  reader  will  take  notice* 
that  in  every  inftance  of  this  kind,  with- 
out exception,  the  original  object  acquires 
force,  not  becaufe  the  illuflration  is  really 
of  an  inferior  nature,  but  reprefented, 
though  really  higher  in  itfelf,  as  lefs  than 
the  thing  to  which  it  is  compared,  the  one 
lofeth  no  part  of  its  original  force,  and  the 
other  gains  a  confiderable  acceflion.  A 
mind,  pained  by  the  recollection  of  ingra- 
titude, is  very  forcibly  fet  before  us  when 
compared  with  a  man  feeling  in  a  defart 
the  blafting  winds,  and  piercing  ft  oils  of 
winter ;  but  while  the  confequences  arifing 
from  thefe  laft,  are  placed  full  in  our  fight, 
the  anguiih,  excited  by  the  other,  is 
painted  with  incomparable  energy  when 
the  poet,  perfonifying  the  biting  air,  fays, 

Thy  tcoth  is  not  fo  keen, 
Thou  caufeft  not  that  teen ; 
Although  thy  breath  be  rude. 

The  reader  will  eafily  fupply  to  himfelf 
many  other  examples  of  the  fame  kind,  to 

which  this  obfervation  may  be  applied. 

The 


Qlfervations  on  Compofition.       241 

The  other  rule  we  laid  down  for  ren- 
dering images  forcible  when  applied  to 
thoughts  in  compofition,  viz.  that  thefe 
without  the  embellifhment  of  adventitious 
circumftances,  fhould  be  adapted  with  pro- 
priety to  their  objects,  reflection  will  in- 
duce us  to  follow  likewife  as  expedient. 
It  is  indeed  true,  that  an  image  may  be 
thus  appropriated  to  its  original  without 
rendering  it  animated,  in  the  fame  manner 
as  the  colour  that  is  fuited  to  the  com- 
plexion of  a  countenance,  may  add  no 
diftinguifhing  vivacity  to  its  expreffion. 
With  regard  to  the  firft,  however,  it  is 
certainly  true,  that  though  this  correfpond- 
ence  betwixt  an  illuftration  and  its  original 
pattern  may  tak;e  place  (as  we  have  already 
feen)  when  no  degree  of  ftrength  is  com- 
municated to  either ;  yet  when  it  is  vio- 
lated by  the  introduction  of  objects  foreign 
to  the  principal  purpofe,  the  force  of  both 
is  confiderably  leflened,  and  their  impref- 
fion  is  rendered  lefs  durable.  The  ufe 
of  unappropriated  circumftances  in  the 
illuftration  of  an  important  fentiment, 
hath  the  fame  effect  upon  the  mind  of  a 

VOL,  II.  R  reader 


242         Philofophtcal  and  Critical 

reader  as  the  "  turba  verborum,"  (as 
Cicero  calls  it)  the  multitude  of  words-. 
The  ftyle  of  Compofition  is  enervated  by 
both.  The  ftrength  indeed  of  the  image 
it'felf  confidered  apart  from  the  language, 
depends,  no  doubt,  upon  that  of  the  ima- 
gination which  conceives  it.  This  radical 
character,  therefore,  can  be  altered  by  no 
difpofition  whatever.  But  the  figure  of 
Compofition  here  mentioned,  when  little 
detached  flrokes  are  admitted  into  it,  by 
carrying  the  reader's  attention  away  from 
the  principal  point,  renders  that  difFufe 
which  ought  to  have  been  clofely  united ; 
and  impairs  in  this  manner  the  effect  of 
the  whole. 

Thefe  obfervations  it  ought  to  be  re- 
membered, relate  wholly  to  jentiments  as 
energetically  conveyed  by  illuftrations,  in 
whatever  fpecies  of  the  art  thefe  may  be 
introduced.  With  regard  to  action,  (that 
high  kind  of  it  in  particular  which  forms 
the  epopoea)  the  matter  is  different.  In  a 
narration  extremely  diverfified,  the  images 
drawn  promifcuouily  from  all  fources  muft 
be  at  the  fame  time  frequent  and  various, 

as 


Obfervatlons  on  Cowpo/ition. 

as  the  circumftances  direct  to  which  thefe 
are  applied.  Amidft  fueh  diverfity,  the 
mind  though  pleafe.d  to  find  in  each  pro- 
portion and  fymmetry,  yet  requires  to  be 
relieved  by  ftrokes  fomewhat  digreffive. 
The  force  of  a  defcription,  it  is  true,  may 
be  weakened  in  a  fmall  meafure  by  this 
conduct  at  the  time.  But  the  writer,  like 
an  able  commander,  by  extending  his 
powers  at  fome  times  over  a  larger  com- 
pafs  than  neceflity  might  prefcribe,  will 
moft  fuccefsfully  accomplish  his  ultimate 
purpofe ;  and  if  a  lively  impreffion  is  made 
while  thefe  are  yet  diffufed,  it  will  become 
irrefiftible  when  they  are  clofe  and  con- 
centrated. In  an  eloquent  oration,  there- 
fore, and  in  the  higheft  fpecies  of  poetry, 
the  diffufion  here  cenfured  in  general, 
may  be  judicioufly  adapted  to  promote  a 
good  end.  In  other  branches  of  the  art 
in  general,  particularly  in  the  cafe  for- 
merly mentioned,  it  renders,  as  we  have 
feen,  Compofition  enervated. 

III.  We  have  now  endeavoured  to  mow 

i 

at  confiderable  length,  what  is  implied  in 

the  epithet  nervous  when  viewed  as  a  cha- 

R  2  rafter 


244         PJrilofofhical  and  Critical 

rafter  of  Compofition,  what  faculty  takes 
cognifance  of  it,  and  by  what  circum- 
ftances  it  is  conftituted.  Our  obfervations- 
on  thefe  fubjecls  will  enable  us  more  eafily 
to  comprehend  what  remains  to  be  treated  ; 
the  caufes  that  deprive  language  of  its  due 
force,  and  the  moft  proper  method  of 
avoiding,  or  of  correcting  this  weaknefs. 

The  caufes  that  deprive  expreffion  of 
ks  juft  influence  are  principally  the  three 
following,  i.  Improper  diffufion  of  any 
kind,  but  more  particularly  the  too  fre- 
quent ufe  of  compounded  epithets.  2.  The 
unneceflary  admiflion  of  the  particles  of 
fpeech  into  Compofition,  by  whofe  ufe 
its  dignity  is  loft,  and  its  impreflion  en- 
feebled. 3.  When  neither  of  thefe  fig- 
natures  chara&erife  a  performance,  this 
defect  of  ftrength  will  ftill  be  confpicuous 
when  either  the  fubject  in  general,  or  any 
particular  branch  of  it  is  difproportioned- 
to  the  ability  of  the  writer* 

i .  We  have  made  ufe  of  the  term  dif- 

fufion  frequently  m  this  fection,  when  the 

connection  in  which  it  flood  muft  have 

rendered  it   fuffrciently  intelligible.     We 

muft 


Obfervations  on  Compofitlon.       245 

here,  however,  explain  it  a  little 
more  minutely.  We  commonly  obferve, 
that  the  language  adopted  by  a  rich  ima- 
gination is  florid,  copious,  and  luxuriant. 
With  the  epithet  copious  we  aflgciate  no 
idea  of  enervated  diction;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, apply  it  to  a  work  in  which  every 
fucceflive  object  is  prefented  before  the 
mind  in  its  complete  proportions  ;  and 
deem  it  juftly,  when  eminently  predo- 
minant, to  be  the  moft  perfect  character 

of  Compofition  *.  We  call  this  the  moft 
perfect  character  of  the  art,  becaufe  it  is 
not,  like  any  of  thofe  we  have  yet  ex- 
amined, required  to  predominate  only  or 
principally  in  certain  fpecies,  but  extends 
univerfally  to  all.  A  copious  writer,  in 
whatever  department  of  literature  his  abili- 
ties are  exerted,  is  one  who  does  juftice  to 
every  branch  of  his  fubject;  and  by  fay- 
ing all  that  can  be  advanced  on  it  with 
propriety,  fills  at  the  fame  time  the  ear 


Er»  Af£i?  xxTjfu  -Grxa-Wt   TJ  TI? 

? 
9&f'      AIONT2. 


AAIKAP.  vf^  SyvfitT.  Ovo,u.  c.  28. 

R  with 


246         Philofophical  and  Critical 

with  the  harmony  of  his  periods,  and 
gives  the  mind  a  fatisfadlory  view  of  the 
theme  of  which  he  treats  *. 

A-kin 

*.  The  beft  critics,  both  ancient  and  modern,  con- 
cur in  recommending  the  ufe  of  this  numerous  dic- 
tion, particularly  to  young  perfons,  as  much  more  eligi- 
ble than  the  oppofite  character,  even  though  verging, 
on  the  extreme  of  verbofity.     The  reply  of  the  poet 
Accius  to  Pacuvius,  who  allows  his  verfification  to  be 
numerous  and  lofty,  but  cenfured  it  at  the  fame  time 
as  defective  in  elegance,  fets  this  remark  in  a  very, 
ftriking   light. — "  Ita   eft,   inquit  Accius,   uti  dicis, 
iieque  id  fane  me  poenitet,  meliora  enim  fore  quae 
deinceps  fcribam.     Nam  quod  in  pomis  eft,  itidern 
efie  aiunt  in  ingeniis,  quas  dura  &  acerba  nafcuntur, 
poft  fiunt  mitia  &  jucunda  :  fed  quae  gignuntur  ftadm 
vieta  &    mollia  atque   in   pfincipio  funt  uvida,   noil 
matura  mox  fiunt  fed  putria.     Relinquendum  igitur 
vifum  eft  in  ingenio  quod  dies  atque  setas  mitificet." 
Aulus  Gell.  lib.  riii.  cap.  2.     Quintilian  is  very  ex- 
plicit on  this  fubjeft.     "  Facile  remedium  eft  uber- 
tatis,    fterilia   nullo   modo  vincuntur.     Ilia  mihi  in 
pueris  natura    nimium   fpei  dabit  in  qua  ingenium, 
judicio  prefumitur..    Materiam  efle  primam  volo  vel 
abundantlorem  atque  ultra  quam  oportet  fufam.     Multum 
inde  dement  anni,  &c."    Inftit.   lib.  ii.   c.  4.     The 
younger  Piiny  judges  in  the  fame  manner  of  this 
character.     "  Dele6lare,  perfuadere,  copiam  dicendi 
fpatiumque  defiderant ;  relinquere  vero  aculeum  in 
audientium  animis  is  demum  poteft,  qui  non  pungit 
fed   infigit.     Non  enim  amputata  oratio  &  abfcifla, 
fed  lala,  &  magnifi^  &  excelfa  tonat,  fulgurat  omnia 

denique 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       247 

A-kin  to  this  excellence,  however,  when 
fubfifting  in  perfection,  is  that  injudicious 
diffufion  which  we  have  mentioned  as  in- 
compatible with  vigorous  execution  *.  It 

will 

denique  pcrturbat  ac  mifcet."  Epift.  lib.  i.  cpift.  xx. 
A  celebrated  modern  critic  confiders  this  fubject  very 
juftly.  His  words  deferve  attention.  u  Abfterreo 
{fays  he)  juventutem  a  brevitate,  cujus  imitatio  facil- 
lime  setatem  hanc  clecipit.  Juveniii  ille  brevitatis 
ftudio,  aridus  plerumque  &  exfuccus  ftylus  evadit,nec 
facile  ad  laudatam  tcmperiem  veriitur,  nifi  initio  libertas 
quadam  &  luxuries  fit  quam  zetas.  paulatim  depafcat." 
Lipf.  Epift. 

*  Cicero  himfelf  (as  we  are  informed  by  Tacitus) 
cfcaped  not  the  cenfure  of  his  contemporaries,  on  ac- 
.count  of  this  diiFufion  in  his  diclion.  "  Satis  conftat 
nee  Ciceroni  obtre£latores  defuiffe  quibus  inflatus,  & 
tumens,  nee  fatis  preffus ;  fupra  modum  exultant  & 
fuperjluensi  &  panim  Atticui  videretur.  Legifti  utique 
&  Calvi,  &  Bruti  ad  Ciceronem  miflas  epiftolas  ex 
quibus  facile  eft  deprehendere  Calvum  quidem  Cice- 
roni vifum  exfanguem,  &c.  Rurfumque  Ciceronera 
a  Calvo  quidem  mala  audiviffe  tanquam  folutum  & 
enervem,  a  Bruti  autem  (ut  ipfius  verbis  utar).tanquara 
fraclum  atque  elumbsm."  De  Orator.  Dialog.  Later 
ages,  however,  have  done  more  juftice  to  this  admired 
ancient,  whofe  language  (if  that  of  any  writer  ever 
deferved  this  panygeric)  unites  the  harmony  of  the 
copious^  with  the  energy  of  the  cvncife  in  Compofition  ; 
and  may  be  denominated  in  words  applied  by  an  ele- 
gant poet  to  a  noble  river,  "  full  without  overfaiving? 
JDenham.  It  is  fomewhat  remarkable,  that  Tacitus 
R  4  himfelf> 


248         Philofophical  and  Critical 

will  be  immediately  underftood,  by  com- 
paring thefe  characters  together,  that  as 
the  copious  in  Compofition  is  obtained 
when  the  full  dimenfions  of  every  object 
are  difplayed,  ib  the  difFufe  or  verbofe 
takes  place  in  it  when  in  confequence  of 
an  attempt  to  do  more  than  is  neceflary 
thefe  become  difproportioned.  As  foon  as 
a  writer  verges  from  the  point  of  per- 
fection by  falling  into  this  error,  his  die-, 
tion  lofeth  a  part  of  its  force,  even  while 
we  are  yet  infenfible  of  the  caufe,  or  are 
not  fo  much  affected  as  to  trace  it  out 
with  attention.  A  river,  whofe  waters  rife 
to  the  higheft  level  of  its  bank  on  either 
fide,  is  a  noble  and  majeftic  object  upon 
which  we  dwell  with  admiration,  and 
whofe  force  is  augmented  in  proportion  as 

himfelf,  one  of  the  mod  concife  writers  whom  anti-s 
quity  hath  produced,  recommends  an  expreflion  fome- 
what  diffufed,  in  treating  ferious  fubje&s,  to  be  made 
ufe  of,  particularly  in  annals.  *'  Annalium  tarda 
quaedam  eft  &  iners  fcriptura."  De  Caufis  Corrupt. 
Eloq.  c.  21.  By  the  tarda  and  iners  is  here  under- 
itood,  that  copious  exprefiion  which  is  neceflary  to 
convey  ideas  clearly  to  the  mind,  when  many  tranf- 
s  muft  be  fuccinclly  related. 


O&fervations  on  Compofition.       249 

the  bounds  approach  to  each  other  within 
which  it  is  confined.  But  when  its  banks 
are  either  broken,  or  overflowed  by  the 
tide,  the  impetuofity  of  the  current  will 
be  leilened  as  its  range  is  extended,  and 
the  paffenger  will  flem  or  repel  it  with 
more  facility.  Thus  as  the  ftream  is  rude 
and  turbulent  when  too  much  confined, 
fo  when  taking  too  wide  a  compafs  it  be- 
comes languid  and  enervated.  The  appli- 
cation of  this  to  the  prefent  fubject  is 
obvious  :  the  difficulty  lies  in  preferving 
the  juft  medium. 

In  order  to  obtain  this  point,  at  leaft  as 
nearly  as  poflible,  a  writer  ought  to  avoid 
the  epithetical  ftyle  as  it  may  be  termed, 
which  is  formed  by  the  ufe  of  too  many 
adjectives  in  a  performance.  Thefe,  when 
introduced  at  all  times  as  if  the  fubftan- 
tive  ought  never  to  ftand  by  itfelf,  inftead 
of  communicating  ftrength  to  a  difcourfe, 
render  it,  on  the  contrary,  infipid  and  un- 
meaning. This  is  the  cafe  more  particu- 
larly when  thefe  are  either  general,  or  are 
thrown  in  to  fill  up  a  period,  and  contain 
wfelefs  repetitions.  When  Qaudian  intro- 

duceth 


250          Philofophical  and  Critical 

duceth  his  poem  on  the  Rape  of  Profer«» 
pine,  by  faying, 

Infcrni  raptoris  equop,  afflataque  curru 
Sidcra  Tenario,  caligantefque  profundse 
Junonis  thalamos,  audaci  promere  cantu 
Mens  congefta  jubet. 

(words  whofe  -meaning  cannot  be  ade-* 
quately  conveyed  in  a  tranflation)  the  dif- 
cerning  reader  will  be  fenfible,  that  the 
fenfe  of  this  pafTage  is  hurt  by  redundant 
epithets,  which  enfeeble  the  exprefiion 
while  they  render  it  inflated  *.  In  the 

field 

*  The  effect  of  this  ftyle  will  be  more  fully  com- 
prehended when  it  is  compared  either  with  an  expref- 
fion  divefted  of  epithet,  or  with  one  difiinguifhed. 
on'y  by  fuch  as  have  propriety.  "We  (hail  here  pro- 
duce nn  example  of  each.  Atys  recovering  from  the 
frenzy  in  which  he  had  emafcuiated  himfelf,  and  re- 
jecting on  bis  condition  exclaims  with  great  emotion. 

Egone 

Patria,  bonis,  amicis,  genitoribus  abero? 

Ahero  foro,  paleftra,  ftudio,  gymnafiis  ? 

Mife;,  ah  mifer !   Quaerendum  eft  etiam  atque  etiara 

animc 
Quod  enim  genus  ?  Figura  eft  ?  Ego  numquid  abierim  ? 

Ego  MulierP 

Jam,  jam  dolet  quod  egi,  jam,  jam  quoque  pcenitet. 

Catul. 

Here  the  reader  will  obferve,  that  the  poet  attempt* 

not 


Obftrvations  on  Compcjition.       25  i 

field  of  fofter  defer iption,  adjectives  ap- 
plied promifcuoufly  in  this  manner  to  fill 
up  a  vacuity,  as  it  would  feem,  conftitute 

not  to  heighten  the  diftrefs  of  the  fcene  by  employing 
apy  epithet.  Ideas  are  fuppofed  to  have  poured  too 
faft  upon  the  mind  to  admit  the  heightening  that 
arifeth  from  this  circumftance.  Atys  fpeaks  the  lan-r 
guage  of  nature,  when  he  draws  a  comparifon  betwixt 
his  paft  and  prefent  ftate  in  a  few  fimple  words,  any  of 
which  would  be  weakened  by  the  mod  forcible  epithet 
that  could  be  applied  to  it. — An  inftance  of  the  laft 
kind  we  fhall  take  from  Claudian  himfelf,  who,  in 
the  following  beautiful  lines,  propofeth  his  fubjecl: 
with  admirable  fimplicity,  and  makes  not  ufe  of  one 
epithet  which  could,  with  propriety,  be  altered  or 
omitted. 

Ssepe  mihi  dubiam  traxit  fententia  mentem 
Curarent  fuperi  terras,  an  nullus  inefiet 
Re£tor,  &  incerto  fluerent  mortalia  cafu. 
IS  am  cum  difpofiti  quaefiflem  fcedera  mundi, 
Pnefcriptofque  maris  fines,  annique  meatus, 
Et  lucis,  noc~lifque  vices, — tune  omnia  rebar 
Confilio  firmata  Dei. 
Qtn  variam  Phceben  alieno  jufferit  igne 
Comp'eri,  folemque  fuo,  &c.  In  Rufin.  lib.  i.  ab  init; 
This  might  well  pafs  as  the  language  of  the  moft  ac- 
compliflied  author   of  the  age   of  Auguftus.     The 
whole  paffage  breathes  the  fame  fpirit.     We  cannot 
tranfcribe  it   here.     It   is  a  happy  fpecimen  of  the 
manner  in  which  a  philofophical  fubjecl:  ought  to  be 
prqpofed,   in    a    ftyle    preferving   the  juft    medium 
betwixt  bombaft,  and  meannefs ;    redundance,  and 
defed. 

the 


2 $2         Phhofophlcal  and  Critical 

the  flowery,  or  puerile  in  Compofition, 
which  indicates  always  either  a  weak,  or 
an  immature  understanding  ;  and  which 
nothing  but  youth  and  inexperience  ren- 
ders at  any  time  excufable. 

While  we  here  condemn  a  ftyle  that  is 
fromifcuoujly  epithetical,  it  ought  not  to 
be  imagined,  that  this  circumftance  ought 
to  be  wholly  excluded  from  any  fpecies  of 
Compofition  whatever;  or  even  to  be  at 
all  times  fparingly  introduced.  A'  writer 
in  profe,  can  never  be  faid  to  make  ufe  of 
too  many  adjectives  in  his  work  as  long 
as  thefe  are  not  redundant,  i.  e.  expreflive 
of  the  fame  thing ;  but  while  each  con- 
veys a  diftincl:  idea  to  the  mind,  and  fuch 
as  hath  fignificance.  In  poetry,  epithets 
can  never  weaken  the  diction  of  the  writer 
•while  thefe  are  picturefque.  But  even  in 
this  cafe  they  fatigue  the  reader,  by  recur- 
ring upon  him  too  often,  and  the  glare  of 
imagery  is  as  apt  to  hurt  a  fufceptible 
mind,  as  the  blaze  of  funmine  is  to  dazzle 
the  eye.  A  man  of  genius  will  fucceed 
beft  in  rendering  his  work  beautiful  in  the 
proper  fenfe  of  that  epithet,  who  knows 

at 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       253 

at  what  time  it  is  fit  to  reflrain  the  luxu- 
riance of  his  imagination ;  fmce  excellence 
is  conftituted  as  much  by  the  judicious  dif- 
•pofition  of  colours^  as  by  their  original 
invention. 

Compounded  epithets  are  commonly 
made  ufe  of  to  place  the  original  to  which 
they  are  applied,  in  a  point  of  view  as 
ftriking  and  pidurefque  as  it  can  pombly 
admit.  For  this  purpofe,  the  internal 
feelings  of  the  heart,  and  abftracted  ideas 
of  the  underftanding,  are  illuftrated  by  the 
union  of  two  fenfible  objeds  to  which  we 
clifcover  thefe  to  have  fome  ilriking  refem- 
blancc ;  and  their  originals  are  faid  to  be 
imperfonated)  when  rendered  by  an  happy 
application  of  this  kind  cognifable  by  the 
ienfes,  and  pleafmg  to  the  imagination 
which  is  thus  powerfully  impreffed.  Thus 
fire-eyed  anger,  finooth-tongued  flattery, 
pale-lip'd  forrow,  rofy-featured  eafe,  be- 
come much  more  fignificant  by  the  com- 
bined epithets  applied  to  them  here,  than 
by  any  fingle  adjective  of  whatever  im- 
port. Complexion,  grace,  attitude,  and 
thofe  circumftances  in  general  that  imprefs 

the 


254         Philosophical  and  Critical 

the  organs  of  fenfe,  enter  into  the  idea  here 
placed  before  us,  and  render  it  at  the  fame 
time  lively  and  permanent;  This  figure* 
it  mull  be  acknowledged,  hath  been  ufed 
much  more  frequently,  and  perhaps  with 
greater  fuccefs,  by  modern,  than  by  an- 
cient writers  of  eminence  *.  It  confti- 

tutes, 


*  The  learned  reader  muft  decide  on  the  truth  of 
this  obfervation.  Without  confirming  it,  therefore, 
here  by  particular  examination,  which  would  far  ex- 
ceed the  bounds  we  mull  prefcribe  to  ourfelves  in 
this  note,  we  (hall  only  obferve,  that  from  the  works 
of  Homer,  and  Pindar,  the  capital  Greek  poets,  and 
thofe  of  Virgil,  the  Roman,  whofe  writings  might 
afford  examples  of  this  character,  we  find  but  few  ir\± 
fiances  of  objects  rendered  pi£lurefque  by  compounded 
epithet,  in  proportion  at  leaft  to  thofe  which  their 
fubjects  might  have  fuggefted.  The  epithets  of  this 
kind,  applied  by  Homer  to  his  heroes,  are  by  no 
means  the  principal  beauties  of  that  immortal  work. 
Thefe  are,  in  truth,  neither  very  charadteriftical,  nor 
much  diverfified.  Hector  is  commonly  diftinguifhed 
by  the  two  epithets  of  KopvOajoAo?,  and  AvJpo^cvoio?, 
i.  e.  plume-fhaking,  and  man-killing  j  UlyfTcs  IIoAu- 
T^WTTO;,  fometimes;  and  at  others,  both  he  and 
Achilles  are  diflinguifhed  by  the  general  epithet  of 
Aio?.  Agamemnon  is  called,  with  propriety  enough, 
Eu£ux£«iw&,  wide-commanding.  Even  Achilles  him- 
felf,  is  moil  commonly  denominated  IlotWwcv?,  f \vift- 

footed  3 


Qbfirvatwns  on   Cowpofitfon.        255 

tutes,  however,  when  placed  'with  pro- 
priety >  one  of  the  greatefl  beauties  of 
poetry,  (to  which  art  it  is  peculiarly  ap- 
propriated) and  fuch  as  diftinguifheth  ge- 
nius in  its  greatefl:  eminence.  But  when 
in  confequence  of  an  affectation  to  attain 
this  excellence  at  all  times,  it  is  applied 
indifcriminately  to  every  object,  its  ftrength 
is  impaired  by  this  injudicious  ufe  of  it; 
and  figures  which  would  have  commanded 
admiration  when  contemplated  apart,  at 
proper  intervals  from  each  other,  efcape 
even  obfervation  by  being  thus  prcfented 
in  a  promifcuous  affemblage. 

2.  As   Compofition  is    thus  weakened 
by  dirTufion  and  redundance  of  epithet,  fo 

footed ;  which  is  often  repeated,  when  the  reader 
might  expert  that  a  much  more  forcible  and  pi£tu- 
reiqiie  phrafe  fhould  be  fubflituted  in  its  room. 
There  are,  however,  no  doubt,  fome  epithets  wonder- 
fully finking  and  happy  in  the  Iliad.  Pindar  has 
fome  of  the  fame  kind,  (examples  of  which  cannot  be 
fele&ed  here)  but  fewer,  upon  the  whole,  than  it 
might  be  fuppofed  that  fo  great  an  imagination  would 
have  fupplied.  The  cafe  of  Virgil  we  have  already 
confidered.  It  is  probable,  that  the  ancient  poets  in 
general,  avoided  making  ufe  of  compounded  epithets, 
as  inconfiftent  with  that  ftmplicity  of  expreffion  which 
they  endeavour  at  all  times  to  preferve. 

it 


256         Philofophical  and  Critical 

it  fuffers  in  the  fame  manner  by  the  too 
frequent  ufe  of  expletives,  and  of  thofe 
monofyllabical  particles  which  are  em- 
ployed to  connect  the  parts  of  a  fentence 
together.  The  effect  of  the  firft  men- 
tioned is  moft  confpicuous  in  poetry,  par- 
ticularly when  rhyme  is  adopted.  In  this 
cafe,  the  words  do,  will*  Jhall,  /iave,  had, 
&c.  applied  to  the  correfponding  tenfes 
of  verbs,  render  a  poem  like  a  pedant,  at 
once  fliff  and  unedifying,  weak  and  af- 
fected. Pope  at  the  fame  time  exempli- 
fies this  fault,  and  expofeth  the  effect  of  it. 
Expletives  their  feeble  aid  do  join.  EfT.  on  Crit. 

But  let  it  be  remembered,  that  this  remark 
neither  extends  to  dramatic  poetry,  nor 
to  any  fpecies  of  Compofition  that  ap- 
proacheth  to  the  loofer  ftyle  of  conver- 
fation.  In  thefe  the  expletives  above- 
mentioned  have  not  only  propriety,  but 
fignificance  likewife  in  many  cafes ;  be- 
caufe  inftead  of  being  introduced  to  fill 
up  a  fentence  or  a  line,  the  whole  force  of 
it  often  reils  upon  the  emphafis  with 
which  fome  of  them  are  pronounced. 
When  lago  fays  to  Bianca,  .in  the  Moor 
of  Venice, 


Obfervattons  on  Compo/ition.       2C7 


— —  Guiltinefs 

fpeak,  though  tongues  were  out  of  ufe. 
Lodovico   to   Othello,  in  the  fame  play, 
when  he  had  killed  his  wife, 
You  Jhall  clofe  prifoner  reft. 

The  king  of  Denmark  to  Polonius,    IQ 
Hamlet, 

fomething's  in  his  foulj 
O'er  which  his  melancholy  fits  in  brood, 
And  I  do  doubt  the  hatch  and  the  difclofe 
Will  be  fome  danger. 

In  thefe,  and  in  many  other  examples  of 
the  fame  kind,  an  emphaiis  is  laid  on  the 
expletive  J/ja//y  W//,  do*  which  thus  give 
energy  to  difcourfe,  inftead  of  lejfening  it» 
as  In  the  firft  inftance. 

Profe  Compofition  is  weakened  by  no- 
thing more  effectually,  than  by  the  incon- 
fiderate  ufe  of  little  particles,  and  mono- 
fyllables.  Thefe  are  like  tools,  which, 
when  applied  however  apparently  diminu- 
tive to  a  folid  body,  deftroy  its  confiftence, 
and  break  it  into  fragments.  The  little 
copulative  AND  in  particular,  when  too 
frequently  repeated,  tends  greatly  to  ener- 
vate a  fentiment,  and  to  deftroy  the  har^ 

VOL.  II.  S  mony 


258         Phtkfophieal  and  Critical 

mony  of  a  period.     On  this  account,  the 
greateft  mailers  of  Compofition  frequently 
drop  it  altogether,  when  the  fenfe  is  not 
injured  by  the  omiflion  ^  judging  that  the 
words   expreffive  of  certain  ideas,   when 
placed  together  in  one  view,  have  much 
more  force  without  the  repetition  of  this 
copulating  particle,  than  with  it. — "  Non 
omnes  (lays-  the  Roman  orator)  eos  con- 
temnunt  de  quibus  male  exiftimant.    Nam 
quos    improbos,    maledicos,    fraudulentos 
putant,  &c.  eos  haud  contemnunt  quidem,- 
fed   de   iis   male  exiftimant."     Cicer.  De 
Offic.     The  reader  will  obfecve,  that  the 
whole  fentence  is  much  more  expreffive 
when  the  terms  improbos,  &c.  fland  alone, 
than   if  the  particle  et  had  been  applied 
to  each  of  them,  which,  though  an  addi- 
.tion   feemingly  infignificant,   would  have 
impaired    its    ftrength   as    well    as    har- 
mony *. — We   avoid    enlarging    on   this 

head, 

*  In  the  fame  manner  our  author,  fpeaking  a  little 
after  of  the  objects  that  give  agreeable  and  painful 
fenfatione,  fays,  "  Voluptates,  blandiflimae  Dominie, 
f«pe  iriajores  partes  anirni  a  virtute  detorquent>  &  Do- 


Observations  on  Compofition.       259 

head,  that  our  remarks  may  not  be  deemed 
too  minute.  Such  as  have  been  made,  the 
fubjecl:  appears  not  only  to  fuggeft  as  na-> 
tural,  but  to  demand  as  neceffary. 

3.  We  proceed,  therefore,  to  obferve,  iri 
the  laft  place,  that  the  caufe  moft  univer- 
lally  productive  of  an  enfeebled  exprefiion, 
is  a  difproportion  of  the  writer's  abilities^ 

lorum  cum  admoventur  faces,  prseter  modum  plerique 
exterrentur. — Vita,  Mors,  Divitise,  Paupertas,  omnes 
homines  vehementiflime  permovent."  Id.  ibid.  Here 
the  fentiment  is  much  more  nervoufly  exprefled  with- 
out the  repetition  of  the  copulative  et  adjected  to  the 
words  vita^  &c.  than  with  this  addition.  The  beft 
claffical  writers  avoid  likewife  at  fome  times  making 
ufe  of  the  particle  aut  (or)  in  the  comparifori  of  things 
with  each  other.  The  repetition  of  the  relative  re- 
ferring to  a  former  perfon,  renders  a  fentence  incom- 
parably more  elegant  and  forcible.  Thus  Cicero, 
again,  fpeaking  of  juftice  iri  its  moft  enlarged  accept- 
ation, tells  us. — "  Nemo  enim  juftus  efie  poteft  qui 
mortem,  qui  dolorem,  qui  exilium,  qui  egeftatcm 
timet."  Id.  ibid.  This  manner  of  reprefenting  the 
matter  has  a  much  greater  efficacy,  than  if  our  author 
had  faid,  as  an  inferior  writer  would  have  done,  *'  aut 
dolorem,  aut  exilium,"  &c.  The  reader  thrown  into 
tbis  track  of  obfervation,  may  extend  it  to  many  more 
inftahces  than  can  be  enumerated  here,  particularly  in 
the  English  language,  which  abounds  with  mono- 
fyllables. 

S  2  either 


2.6 o         Philofophtcal  and  Critical 

either  to  his  fubject  in  general,  or  to 
particular  branch  of  it. 

When  a  theme  in  general  demands  more- 
vigorous  execution  than  that  to  which  itfr 
author  is  adequate,  the  defect  of  ftrength 
is  as  confpicuous  to  a  difcerning  eye,  as 
the  difference  is  to  all  betwixt  the  man 
who  fupports  a  confiderable  weight  with— 
out  difficulty,  and  him  who  heaves  it  from 
the  earth  with  trepidation,  totters  in  his 
gait  every  moment,  and  ftaggers  with  re- 
laxed finews,  to  the  place  at  which  it  is 
to  be  depofited.    The  parts  of  a  fubject, 
when  this  is  the  cafe,  commonly  want  that 
juft  coherence  which  conftitutes  a  whole 
proportioned  and  confiftent :  the  enlarge- 
ments are  either  foreign  or  trifling;  and" 
thofe  branches  which  are  of  leaft  utility, 
and  require  the  eafieft  exertion,  lead  the 
reader  to  form  an  expectation  both  from 
the  author's  promife,  and  from  his  execu- 
tion, which,  when  brought  to  the  trial,  he 
is  unable  to  gratify. 

But  as  the  defect  of  intellectual  energy 
is   thus    rendered    perfectly-  confpicuous 


Ohfsrvaftons  on  Compofition.       261 

when  a  theme  is  too  great  or  compre- 
henfive  for  the  mind  that  contemplates  it, 
ifo  it  often  happens,  that  when  no  fuch 
defeat  takes  place  in  general,  yet  a  writer 
will  difappomt  ^expectation,   not  only  in 
the  delineation  of  a  particular  part,  or  in 
the   ufe  of  a  difproportioned  illuftration, 
but  even  in  his  manner  of  treating  a  cer- 
tain branch  (perhaps  an-  important  one) 
of  his  fubje£t,  demanding  no  greater  pro- 
portion of  mental  ability  than   others  to 
which  he  hath  been  found  adequate.    The 
iirft  mentioned  of  thefe,  a  good-natured 
reader  will  readily  excufe.     It  is  .the  cha- 
;racl:eriftic  of  every  performance,  andarifeth 
from  the  imperfection  of  human  nature. 
Blemifhes  of  this  kind  are,  perhaps,  even 
sieceflfary  to  recommend  the  beauties  of  a 
performance,  as  the  fhades  of  a  picture 
fet  off  its  graces  to  advantage.     We  may 
.at  leaft  obferve,  that  a  perfect  'work  (could 
dfuch  a  one  be  produced)  would  prefent  a 
very  uninterefling,   if  not  a  difagreeable 
objecl:  to  that  part  of  mankind,  whofe  jen- 
joyment,  if  traced  to  its  fource  in  the  -pe- 
S  3  rufal 


262         Philofofhicai  and  Critical 

rufal  of  a  performance,  arifeth  principally 
from  the  gratification  of  malevolence. 

With  regard  to  the  other  inftance  of 
difproportioned  vigour,  that  which  appears 
in  an  author's  way  of  treating  a  particular 
queftion,  or  branch  of  his  difcourfe,  in 
which  he  exerts  not  the  fame  ftrength* 
either  of  fentiment  or  expreffion,  that  he 
difplays  upon  every  other  topic ;  though 
it  is  a  weaknefs  much  lefs  excufable  than 
the  former,  efpecially  when  arifing  from 
want  of  attention ;  yet  moft  commonly  it 
is  only  an  indication  that  the  mind  of  the 
writer  is  fitted  to  think  with  more  perfpi- 
cacity,  and  to  exprefs  its  ideas  with  greater 
energy,  upon  fome  topics  than  upon  others, 
which  in  the  difcuflion  of  a  comprehen- 
five  plan  will  unavoidably  fall  out.     That 
the  operation  of  both  cafes  may  be  pre- 
vented as  much  as  poffible,  a  man  ought 
to  reflect  in  the  firft  cafe,  that  in  beftow- 
ing  lefs  attention  on  one  part  of  his  fub- 
ject  than  on  another,  he  does  injuftice  to 
his  reader,  whofe  judgment  of  its  import- 
ance may  be  very  different  from  his  own ; 
in  the  laft  he  will  moft  fuccefsfully 

redify 


Qbfer "uations  on  Compqfition.       263 

rectify  this  inaptitude,  by  fupplying  in 
-attention  what  he  may  \vant  in  natural 
propenfity,  and  his  thoughts,  like  a  river 
diverted  into  an  artificial  bed,  though  di- 
verged at  firft  with  difficulty  from  their 
native  direction,  will  at  laft  run  freely  in 
the  channel  that  is  opened  to  receive 
-them. 

•IV.  From  the  preceding  obfervations  on 
nervous  Compofition,  as  relating  to  fen- 
timent,  expreflion,  and  illuftration ;  on  the 
means  that  conftitute  this  character  of  the 
art,  and  on  the  caufes  that  deprive  lan- 
guage of  its  energy,  from  thefe  one  truth 
will  obvioufly  appear  to  refult; — that  the 
firft  thing  neceflary  to  produce  vigorous 
execution,  is  a  perfect  acquaintance  with 
the  fubject  of  which  we  treat.    There  are, 
it  is  true,  performances  in  whofe  compo- 
fition.  there  is  apparently  great  ftrength, 
though  the  authors  are  found  upon  clofer 
-examination  to  have  taken  very  defective 
views  of  their  fubjects.     But  when  this  is 
the  cafe,  it  is  ufually  the  words  or  founds, 
-not  the  fenfe  imparted  in  thefe,  that  deem 
,to  have  emphafis.     Language  .may,   no 
S  4  doubt, 


264         Phikfophlcal  and  Critical 

doubt,  be  fwelled  out  to  fuch  an  expreffion 
when  the  thought  is  wholly  fuperficial; 
and,  indeed,  when  the  mind  is  confcious  of 
a  defeat  in  fentiment,  it  naturally  attempts 
to  compenfate  this  lofs  by  far-fetched  or- 
naments, and  ftrenuous  afiertion.    Men  of 
imagination,  in  whom  the  faculty  of  un-. 
derftanding  is  either  originally  weak,  or 
who  have  formed  a  very  inadequate  efli-. 
mate  of  their  fubjec~t,  generally  fall  into 
the  declamatory  ftyle,  which  though  incon- 
fiftent  with  nervous  Compofition  in  reality \ 
admits   it   greatly   in   appearance*     Thofe 
on  the  other  hand,  whofe  view  of  their 
theme   is   equally   incomplete,    but   who 
either  avoid  declamation,  or  cannot  adopt 
it,  bewilder  themfelves  and  their  readers 
in  the  labyrinth  of  obfcurity,  and  lofe  fight 
of  truth  in  the  purfuit  of  dijlinftion.     If  it 
is  true  (as  we  have  endeavoured  to  evince 
through  the  whole  of  this  fection),  that 
the  character  here  examined  can  only  be 
faid  to  obtain  when  the  thought  and  the 
diction   fupport   and   coalefce   with  each 
other,  we  can  never  afcribe  it  to  any  pro- 
duction in  which  the  former  is  fuperficial. 

The 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       265 

The  declamatory*  and  the  nervous  there^ 
fore,  in  the  ftrid  fenfe  of  the  laft  epithet, 
are  incompatible.  The  laft-mentioned 
writers  again,  who  "  blunder  about  a 
meaning"  which  they  cannot  make  out, 
far  from  deferving  that  the  epithet  nervous 
fhould  be  applied  to  their  compofition, 
diftinguifh  it  properly  by  no  character  but 
that  of  obfcurity.  Energy  of  expreffion 
is  a  fecondary  quality  of  the  art  here  ex- 
amined, derived  from  ftrength  of  fenti- 
nxent,  and  always  accompanying  it.  It  is 
only  when  an  author  thoroughly  compre- 
hends the  feries  of  thoughts  paffing  fuc- 
ceffively  before  him,  that  he  will  convey 
thefe  with  that  mafculine  force  which  an 
idea  ftrongly  conceived  will  infufe,  as  it 
were,  into  his  diction.  Otherwife  it  may 
be  tumid,  ornamented,  or  diffufe ;  but 
never  mafterly  and  invigorated. 

Cui  lift  a  pc  tenter  erit  res, 

Nee  facundia  deferet  hunc,  neque  lucidus  ordo.    HoR. 
2.  Some  critics  are  of  opinion,  that  the 
ftyle  of  Compofition  in  order  to  be  deno- 
minated nervous,  ought  to  be  fo  concife 
clofe  (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it)  as  to 

contain 


266          Phhofophical  and  Critical 

contain  juft  the  necefTary  words  that  are 
expreffive  of  certain  ideas,  and  no  more. 
Such  appears  to  be  the  meaning  affixed  to 
it  by  the  detractors  of  Cicero,  (mentioned 
in  the  celebrated  Dialogue  on  the  Corrup- 
tion of  Eloquence  above  referred  to, 
when  they  accufe  him  of  being  defective 
in  the  preffus  and  atticus  *,  as  they  deno- 
minate it.  This  manner  is  no  doubt 
highly  eligible  when  obtained  in  perfec- 
tion. There  are,  however,  two  capital 
errors  into  which  an  author  may  be  led  by 


*  The  ftyle  here  cbarafterifed  is  probably  termed 
utticus  from  the  peculiar  character  of  Demoilhenical 
eloquence,  which  is  diftinguifbed  by  an  exprejlion  at 
the  fame  time  remarkably  concife,  and  happily  appro- 
priated. O  &  AHMOZ0ENIK.O2  AOFOS 


TTI  <>pa<re»,  xixpajwfvof  TCI?  y,an,  xa» 
«£xo<rp,t)|tA£^o?,  »cai  j^pw^xtvo?  TOL^H  rrj  x 
xa»  (jura,  TV  (TfM.v»  mi/  ^a/ui»  f^wv  xa« 
•A*ra  SiKAfsn  xarf^^Tai.  AIONT2.  APXAIHN 
KPI  i.  Cicero  looked  upon  the  language  of  Dempf- 
thenes  as  fo  remarkably  energetical,  that  he  charac- 
terifeth  it  by  the  fingle,  but  nervous  epithet  VIM. 
*'  Suavitatem  Ifocrates,  fubtilitatem  Lyfias,  acumen 
•Hyperides,  fonitum  ^ifchines,  VIM  Demofthenes  ha- 
.buit."  I)e  Orat.  lib.  iii. 

attempt- 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       267 

attempting  it  without  proper  attention  ;— 
that  of  harfonefs)  and  of  obfcurity. 

The  harfh  in  Compofition  is  conftituted 
by  words   that  have  fignificance  thrown 
together   without   harmony.      This   hap- 
pens either  when  there  is  no  proper  af- 
finity betwixt  the  words  employed  in  a 
difcourfe,  and  the  fenfe  conveyed  in  it ;  or 
when  the  ftruclure  of  periods  is  perplexed 
and  diffonant.     Language  may  be  faid  to 
want  a  juft  correfpondence  with  the  fenti- 
ment  (iuppoiing  this  laft  te  be  ftrongly" 
conceived)  when  an  attempt  to  maintain 
the  harmony  that  ought  to  fubfift  betwixt 
thefe  is  carried  too  far;   and  by  leaving 
out,  as  fuperfluous,  words  that  give  foft- 
nefs  and  elegance  to  expreffion,  an  author 
collects  together  a  fet  of  unmufical  phrafes, 
by  which  the  ear  is  (hocked,  and  the  fenfe 
injured.     We  muft  not,  however,  fo  far 
miftake  the  meaning  of  the  term   Jiar/b, 
when  applied  to  language,  as  to  confound 
it  with  a  rough,  or  even  rude  and  obfolete 
phrafeology.     The  fenfe,  particularly  in  a 
well-wrought  defcription,  may  often  re- 
fluire  rough  founds  to  be  aflembled,  which 

a  juft 


265         Philofophical  and  Critical 

a  juft  difpofition  will  render  harmonious  *„ 
Even  rude  and  obfolete  expreffion  in  the 

fame 


*  Every  reader  knows,  that  an  aifemblage  of  this 
kind  conftitutes  one  of  the  principal  beauties  of  poetic 
cxprdfion. 

Una  eurufque,  notufque  ruunt,  xrreberquc  procellis 

Africus  - 
and  again, 

In  fegetem  veluli  cum  flam  ma  furentibus  auflris 

Incidit,  &  rapidus  montano  fiumine  torrens 

Sternit  agros,  &c. 

"Thefe  defcriptions,  and  many  others  of  the  fame  kind, 
fur  from  being  harfh  or  ungrateful,  are,  on  the,  con- 
trary, remarkably  harmonious.  The  language  of 
Spenfer  in  the  fame  manner,  and  that  of  Taflb, 
though  rendered  obfolete.'m  fome  meafure  by  time,  are 
{till  admired  as  -elegant  and  melodious.  Shall  I  be 
pardoned  by  the  reader  for  giving  an  example  of  barjb 
CompoGtion  from  the  work  of  a  modern  author, 
vrhofe  writings  in  general  are  the  ftandards  of  harmo- 
nious expreiTion,  as  well  as  of  phiiofophical  fenti- 
.tnent?  —  Homer,  defcribing  the  preparations  for  the 
funeral  of  Patroclus,  tells  us,  that  the  party  fent  at  a 
Pittance  to  collect  wood  for  the  pile,  led  their  mules 
with  difEculty  over  broken  rocks,  and  precipices. 
The  line 


Kxr&rroc,  tr 

haih  great  poetic  beauty,  but  the  tranflation,  in  con- 
fequence  of  too  clofe  an  imitation  of  it,  is  unmuGcal, 
and  even  grating  to  the  ear. 

O'er  hills,  o'er  dales,  o'er  crags,  o'er  rocks,  they  go. 
There  is  fomething  ftiff  and  affected  in  this  line,  to 

whkk 


Obferv  at  torts  on  Compofition.        269 

fame  manner  we  may  cenfure  as  the  effect 
of  defective  education,  or  may  confider  as 
the  ftyle  of  an  uninformed  age ;  but  in 
thefe  likewife,  there  may  be  rufticity  with- 
out that  difcordahce*  to  which  laft,  juft  ob- 
fervation,  of  whatever  kind,  can  have  no 
affinity. 

Harfh  diction,  oecafioned  thus  at  fome 
times  by  the  discordance  of  words  to  the 
fenfe  conveyed  in  thefe,  is,  however,  mod 
commonly  the  effe<St  of  ill-conftruded  pe- 
riods. We  pronounce  expreflion  to  hare 
this  difagreeable  peculiarity,  when  the 
members  of  a  fentence  are  broken  and  dif- 
jointed,  inftead  of  forming  a  confiftent 
body;  when  there  is  a  vifible  constraint 
in  the  choice,  as  well  as  difpofition  of 
words,  and  when  the  conclufion  of  the 
period  is  ungratefully  abrupt.  Some  of 

which  the  original  by  no  means  correfponds.     Again, 
Jumping  high  o'er  the  (hrubs  of  the  rough  mound. 
Rattle  the  clattering  cars,  and  the  fliockt  axles  bound. 
The  firft  of  thefe  lines  is  pichirefque,  but  the  laft  is 
particularly  harfh,  and  the  defcripticn  is  overwrought 
in  it.    A  writer  fond  of  conceit  might  fay  here,  that 
the  ear  of  the  reader  is  as  much  flncked  by  this  collec- 
tion of  founds,  as  the  poet  reprefents  the  axles  of  the 
chariot  to  have  been. 

thefe 


270          Philofophical  and  Critical 

thefe  circumftances,  it  is  true,  may  cha- 
racterife  verbofe,  as  well  as  concife  Com- 
pofition.      A  long-winded   fentence   may 
be  broken,   and  rendered  diflbnant  more 
readily  than  a  fhort  one,  which,  confifting 
of  fewer  parts,  may  be  regulated,  one  may 
fay,  with  greater  facility.     But  this  is  the 
cafe   only  when  ftyle,  though  upon  the 
whole  deferving  the  character  of  concife* 
remote  as  it  muft  be  from  the  extreme  of 
improper  diffufion,  is  equally  fo  from  that 
of  deficiency.     It  is  when  a  clofe  and  con- 
tracted manner  is  ftudied,  that  the  words, 
like  the  jagged  points  of  a  rock,  uncon- 
nected with  each  other,   give  the  whole 
Compofition  this  moil  unfavourable  afpect. 
That  harmnefs  in  a  more  particular  man- 
ner which   is   occafioned  by   the   abrupt 
conclufion  of  periods,  is  always  originally 
the  confequence  of  ftudying  brevity  too 
univerfally,  and  depriving  language  of  its 
proper  ornaments. — The  other  error  into 
which  the  affectation  of  too  concife  an 
expreffion  may  lead  an  author,   that  of 
obfcurity^  we  have  confidered  fo  fully  in 
other  parts  of  this  work,  as  to  fuperfede 

the 


Obfervations  on  Compojitlon.       271 

the  ufe  of  an  enlargement  here  *.  In 
order  to  avoid  both  the  faults  we  have 
thus  pointed  out,  as  arifmg  from  affected 
brevity,  a  writer  ought  to  weigh  the  fen- 
timents  or  arguments  fuggefted  to  him 
together,  fo  as  to  judge  of  their  compa- 
rative energy,  and  of  the  words  adapted 
with  greateft  propriety  to  each.  He  who- 
defires  to  form  himfelf  in  early  life  to  a 
nervous  ftyle  of  Compofition,  will  moft 
probably  obtain  his  purpofe  by  taking-  a 
thought  that  hath  remarkable  energy  from 
fome  work  in  which  this  character  pre- 
dominates ;  and  dropping  the  words  of 
his  original,  by  endeavouring  to  exprefs 
it  in  his  own.  When  he  compares  his 
own  attempt  with  the  pattern  imitated,  he 
will  judge  not  only  of  its  general  con-- 
formity  to  the  ftandard,  but  of  the  caufe 
from  which  a  difproportion  proceeds.  As 
fbon  as  this  is  detected,  it  may  be  era- 
dicated with  facility,  not  in  the  fingle  in- 
ftance  alone,  but  in  all  cafes  without  ex- 
ception, where  a  fimilar  ftrain  of  Com- 

*  Sec  fe£t  ii.  and  fe&.  iii.  Sec.  of  this  volume. 

pofition 


Philofophical  and  Critical 

pofition  is  required  to  prevail.  The  ob>* 
fervation  of  this  rule  tends  no  doubt  td 
improve,  when  properly  applied,  every 
chara&er  of  the  art.  Yet  it  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  that  which  we  have  confidered 
in  this  fection,  becaufe  a  nervous  manner 
is  of  all  others  the  moft  univerfally  af- 
fected ;  and  at  the  fame  time  in  confe- 
quence  of  the  faults  allied  to  it,  the  moft 
difficult  to  be  obtained. 

3.  The  laft  method  we  fhall  mention 
of  giving  this  mafterly  character  to  Com- 
pofition,  is  that  of  carrying  on  a  well- 
conducted  climax  in  any  branch  of  it  what- 
ever. By  a  climax i  whether  in  the  lan- 
guage or  fentiment  of  a  performance,  we 
underftand  a  gradual  progreflion  from  the 
lefs  to  the  more  animated,  as  the  objects 
which  the  mind  contemplates  grow  in 
their  importance,  until  the  faculty  that 
fcanned  a  few  general  principles  with  in- 
difference, fixes  with  clofe  attention  on  the 
forcible  and  interefting.  As  every  fubject 
ought  to  be  treated  in  this  manner,  that 
it  may  make  a  fuitable  impreflion  on  the 
power  to  which  it  is  addrefled,  a  fimilar 

pro* 


Qbfervatiom  on  Compofition.       273 

jprocedure  in  concluding  the  members  of 
a  fentence  to  its  conclufion  muft  naturally 
be  productive   of  a  correfponding  effect. 
This  conduct  is  principally  requifite  when 
the  motives  ufed   to   enforce  any  propo- 
fition  are  placed  before  the  mind  in  one 
comprehend ve   fummary;    as    it    is    here 
neceifary  to  concentrate  their  whole  force 
in  one  pointy  whofe  energy  may  be  thus 
rendered  irrefiftibly  penetrating.     The  ef- 
fect  of  fuch   conduct   will    be  felt   moft 
powerfully    by     trying     an     example. — . 
"  Idemque  (fays  the  Roman  orator)  cum 
coelum,  terras,  maria,  remmque  omnium 
naturam  perfpexerit,  eaque  unde  generata 
quo  recurrant,  quando,  quomodo  obitura, 
quid  in  iis  mortale  &  caducum,  quid  divi- 
num  seternumque  fit  viderit.     Ipjumque  ea 
moderantem   &   regentem  psene   prehen- 
dznt-yfejeque  non  unis  circumdatum  maeni- 
bus,  popularem  alicujus  definiti  loci ;  fed 
chem  totius  mundi  quafi  umus  urbis  agno- 
verit: — in  hac  magnificentia  rerum\  atque 
in  hoc  confpeSlu  &  cognitione  natura ; — 
DII  immortales! — Quam  ipfe  fe  nofcet !" 
De   Legib.    lib.   i. — The    gradation    here 
VOL.  II.  T  from 


PJiilofofhical  and 

from  lefs  to  more  interefting  circumftancesr 
and  th<*  corresponding  emphafis  commu- 
nicated to  the  diction  as  the  author  pro- 
ceeds, can  efcape  the  obfervatiort  of  no 
reader  who  is  able  to  comprehend  an  ori- 
ginal which,  any  translation  muft  greatly 
injure. 

Thus  we  have  attempted  to1  render  the 
reader  acquainted  with  the  proper  mean- 
ing and  fphere  of  this  diftinguiShed  cha- 
racter of  Composition,  with  the  caufes  that 
produce,  with  the  faults  allied  to,  and  with, 
the  means  of  obtaining  it.  We  fhall  con- 
clude with  obferving,  as  the  refult  of  all,— 
that  however-  eminent  any  characteristic 
of  the  art  may  be,  a  writer  of  good  fenfe 
will  take  care  never  to  give  fuch  flrenuous 
and  clofe  attention  to  that  one,  as  to  over- 
look others  of  considerable,  perhaps  of 
eq«al  importance.  In  the  puriuit,  there- 
fore, of  Jlrengthy  he  will"  be  careful  to 
prefer ve  harmony  of  di&ion.  Thefe,  as  we 
have  feen  in  many  inftances,  are  perfectly 
compatible.  The  excluSion  of  the  laft  from. 
Compofition  can  be  compenfated  by  the 
attainment  of  no  excellence  whatever. 

SEC- 


Obfervations  en  Compofition.       275 


SECTION 

Of  correct  Compofition* 

O  branch  of  the  various  and  compre- 
henfive  fubjecT:  of  the  prefent  work 
opens  to  us  a  more  exteniive  field  of  ob- 
iervation,  tfhan  that  with  which  we  here 
propofe  to  fum  up  our  remarks  on  the 
principal  characters  of  the  ftyle  of  Com- 
pofition.  Every  writer  defires  to  render 
his  performance  correct  ;  and  his  attention 
to  this  circumftance  is  proportioned  to  the 
follicitude  with  which  he  wifhes  to  obtain 
tmallayed  approbation.  The  purpofe  to 
which  the  critical  art  hath  been  principally 
fubfervient  in  all  ages,  is  that  of  correct- 
ing the  faults,  of  pointing  out  the  defects, 
and  of  retrenching  the  fuperfluities  of  in- 
accurate Compofition  ;  by  which  means, 
when  un  warped  by  paffion  or  prejudice 
to  felfifli  gratification,  it  hath  contributed 
eminently  to  reform  the  manners,  and 
promote  the  happinefs  of  mankind.  The 
truth  of  this  obfervation  we  mall  illuftrate 
at  greater  length,  when  we  come  to  trace 
T  2  the 


Philfifopliical  and  Critical 

the  connection- of  both  arts  with  each  otherT 
and  to  fho\V  the  tendency  of  each. 

When  we  con£der  the  moft  correct  per- 
formance in  this  manner,  as  that  in  which- 
the  near  eft  approach  is  made  to  perfection, 
the  animadverfions  of  fome  men  muft  ap- 
pear to  be  ill-founded,  who  affirm,  that 
too  much  attention  may  be  "bcftowed  on 
this  circum-ftance ;  that  it  is  often  unfa- 
vourable to  the  exertions  of  genius;  and 
that  exquifite  beauty y  though  frequently 
characterifmg  works  whofe  compoiition  is 
unequal^  yet  is  feldom  to  be  met  with  in 
thofe  more  chaftifed  productions,  where 
'the  reader  finds  nothing  to  cenfure.  We 
{hall  here  begin  with  laying  before  the 
reader  the  reafons  that  are  urged  on  both 
fides  of  this  queftion,  we  fhall  then  en- 
deavour to  mow  what  degree  of  attention- 
this  character  of  the  art  necefiarily  claims, 
and  in  what  cafes  an  author  ought  perhaps 
to  relax  in  it ; — fome  obiervations  (as 
ufual)  on  the  moft  proper  methods  of  ren- 
dering Compofition  correct,  will  conclude 
the  feel  ion.. 


•Vbfervafions  on  Compofition.       277 

I.  It  is  almoft  needlefs  to  obierve  here, 
that  the  term  correff,  when  applied  to  this 
art,  fuggefts  a  negative  rather  than  pofitive 
defcription  of  any  kind.  It  implies,  in- 
deed, the  abfence  of  faults,  but  not  the 
predominance  of  dirlinguilhing  excellence. 
At  the  fame  time  this  epithet  -contains 
nothing  in  its  meaning,  either  exclufive 
of  rfuch  excellence,  or  incompatible  with 
it.  A  work  eminently  characterifed  by 
every  fpecies  of  beauty,  may  be  likewife 
correct.  But  it  is  equally  true,  that  a  per- 
formance in  which  we  find  little  to  cen- 
fure  will  always  deferve  thi-s  character, 
though  its  excellence  may  be  at  tnoft  but 
fecondary. 

It  deferves  more  particular  notice,  that 
•this  phrafe,  when  applied  to  the  various 
parts,  or  members  of  Compofition  (as  thefe 
may  be  denominated),  hath  a  more  deter- 
minate fignification  than  when  viewed 
with  relation  to  the  art  in  general,  and 
'fuch  as  is  pofitive  and  direct.  Thus  by  a 
feries  of  corrected  fentiment,  we  underftand 
thoughts  that  rife  naturally  out  of  a  fub- 
ject  ronveying  diftinct  ideas  to  the. mind; 
7  3  and 


278         Philofophical  and  Critical 

and  placed  in  fuch  exad;  difpofition,  as 
that  the  fenfe  muft  be  injured  by  altering 
their  arrangement.  By  a  correct  image  in 
the  fame  manner,  we  mean  one  that  is 
appropriated  to  its  original  pattern,  whofe 
parts  correfpond  exactly  to  thofe  of  this 
object;  to  which  a  retrenchment  would 
give  defect,  and  an  addition  fuperfluity. 
Correct  diction  is  that  which  being  both 
grammatically  accurate,  and  diftinguifhed 
by  propriety,  obtains  at  once  the  appro^ 
bation  of  the  lefs  intelligent,  and  efcapes 
the  cenfure  of  the  critic. 

Thefe  remarks  on  correft  Compofition, 
lead  us  naturally  to  take  notice  of  another 
circumftance  by  which  it  is  difcriminated 
from  thofe  which  have  formerly  been 
enumerated.  It  is,  that  the  prefent  cha-^ 
racter  can  be  applied  more  properly  than 
any  other  to  one  member  or  ingredient 
of  the  art,  though  wholly  excluded  from 
the  reft.  We  have  already  feen,  that  the 
fublime,  and  the  nervous  in  particular, 
never  take  place  unlefs  when  there  is  a 
Concurrence  of  ftrong  or  exalted  fentiment, 
\vith  vigorous,  or  elevated  expreffion, 

This 


Observations  en  Compofitkn.       279 

This  holds  true  likewife  of  the  other  cri- 
teria we  have  examined,  which  commu- 
nicate a  certain  colour^  :as  it  may  be  called, 
or  peculiarity  to  language.  But  no  fuch 
combination  is  jndiipenfably  requisite  to 
conftitute  the  prefent  character,  which  may 
be  even  perfect  in  its  kind,  though  wholly 
confined  to  one  object.  Thus  it  will  be 
acknowledged,  that  the  fentimental  part 
of  a  performance  may  be  correct  while 
She  diction  is  inaccurate;  this  laft  chaftifed 
again  when  the  former  is  defective;  and 
(in  timage  may  be  fitted  to  its  original  with 
flifficient  accuracy,  when  both  the  others 
4ie  open  to  cenfure.  This-circumftance  ,it 
is,  that  renders  Composition  perfectly 
chaftifed,  fo  rare  and  difficult  an  attain- 
ment. Thought  and  expreffion  forming 
here  no  neceffary  combination,  as  in  the 
former  inftances  *,  cannot  be  made  equally 
.correct  without  the  clofeft  attention  .tQ 
both.  Yet  a  want  of  either,  .far  from  being 
of  /mall  confequence,  is  a  capital  defect. 

Frqm  the  view  we  have  here  exhibited 
-of  the  prefent  fubject,  we  may,  without 

*  See  fecl»  iv.  and  fe£l.  v.  pall". 

T  4 


280         Philofophical  and  Critical 

difficulty,  account  for  that  defire 
hath  obtained  among  authors  in  every 
civilized  {late  of  fociety,  to  diftinguifh 
their  performances  by  the  prevalence  of 
this  criteria  in  its  utmoft  extent ;  as  being 
fenfible,  that  though  the  term  correct  may 
be  applied  without  impropriety  to  one  in- 
ingredient  of  Composition,  exclufively  of 
others  ;  yet  that  work  comes  neareft  to 
perfection,  in  which  its  influence  is  moft 
univerfal. 

The  reafons,  therefore,  that  are  urged 
for  rendering  Compofition,  in  the  full 
meaning  of  the  word,  as  correct  as  poflible, 
are  fo  obvious  and  ftriking,  as  to  require 
no  particular  enumeration ;  and  far  lefs 
any  long  enlargement.  It  is  by  means  of 
this  character  alone  that  a  work,  in  whofe 
conduct  there  may  be  very  confiderable 
ingenuity,  affords  the  mind  a  rational  en- 
tertainment, inftead  of  being  laid  afide  as 
containing  the  ebullitions  of  extravagant 
imagination,  reduced  into  no  form,  and 
exciting  the  difguft  of  a  fenfible  reader, 
by  the  frequent  violation  of  decorum  and 
of  truth.  It  is  (as  we  have  already  feen) 

the 


Obf equations  on  Composition.       281 

the  peculiar  province  of  underftanding  to 
beftow  this  laft  heightening  on  a  produc- 
tion *,  the  maturity,  as  well  as  compre- 
henfion  of  which  power,  is  indicated  in 
proportion  as  this  chaftifed  manner  pre- 
vails in  one  branch  of  the  art,  or  takes 
place  equally  in  all.  There  are,  indeed, 
certain  deviations  from  propriety  rendered 
excufable  by  various  circumftances,  as  the 
age  in  which  an  author  wrote,  his  time  of 
life  (particularly  if  pofTefled  of  extenfive 
imagination),  the  nature  of  his  theme,  as 
demanding  materials  greatly  diverfified; 
and,  finally,  the  imperfection  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  extending  neceflfarily  to  its 
production  of  what 'kind  foever.  This  laft 
caufe  muft  be  allowed  by  all  to  have  uni- 
verfal  influence ;  and  thofe  who  have  leaft 
of  it  themfelves,  are  commonly  readieft  to 
confider  it  as  a  plea  for  the  greateft  num- 
ber of  defects. 

Thefe  caufes,  however,  operate  only 
within  certain  fpheres,  and  there  are  boun- 
daries (if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it)  fet  to 

•  See  vol.  I,  fed.  ii. 

their 


±82          Philofophicai  and  Critical 

their  dominion,  beyond  which  we  permit 
tt  not,  at  any  time,  to  be  extended.  Thus 
a  writer,  whom  we  know  to  have  lived  in 
a  barbarous  xge,  will  be  readily  excused 
on  this  account  for  falling  into  a  rude  and 
ill-adapted  phraieology.  But  fhould  this 
be  adduced  as  a  plea  for  that  obfcurity 
which  arifeth  from  perplexed  conftrudtion, 
or  the  fimplicity  that  is  violated  by  inflated 
defcription,  a  fenfible  critic  would  reply, 
that  thefe  are  faults  derived,  not  from  the 
manner  of  an  age,  however  uncultivated, 
but  from  a  defed:  of  the  author's  under- 
ftandiag.  This,  he  will  fay,  mufl  have  fug- 
gefled  to  him  if  at  all  adequate  to  any  fphere 
of  Compofition,  that  perfpicuity  requires 
the  members  of  a  fentence  to  correfpond 
with  each  other;  and  that  the  fimplicity  of 
language  is  violated,  when  it  is  fwelled 
out  with  epithets  which  injure  the  fenfe, 
inftead  of  adding  to  its  fignificance.  The 
florid,  the  luxuriant,  the  digreffive,  and 
even  the  flowery  (of  all  others  the  leaft 
agreeable  manner),  are  likewife  excufed  as 
foon  as  we  know  the  youth  of  the  author ; 
and  are  contemplated  as  the  firft  crop  of 

.a  young 


Obftrvations  'on  Compofition.       283 

a  young  tree,  whofe  bloflbms,  though  not 
hardening   into   confiftence   at  that  time, 
yet  promife  a  rich  crop  of  fruit  when  the 
plant  hath  arrived  at  maturity.    But  as  we 
are  induced  to  overlook  the  prefent  in  this 
inftance,  from  our  expectation  of  the  fu« 
ture,  the  plea  fo  fuccefsfully  employed  in 
the  cafes  above-mentioned,  would  be  ad- 
duced to  no  purpofe  in  favour  of  a  frigid, 
trifling,  or  infipid  production,  which  af- 
fording   neither    immediate    gratification, 
nor  a  profpect  of  future  emolument,  would 
be  rejected  as  wholly  unworthy  our  atten- 
tion.     Finally,    when  we  difcover  great 
mattery  and  precifion  to  take  place  in  the 
general    conduct    of    a    work    (efpecially 
when  confiding  of  very  complicated  parts), 
the   imperfection  of  human    nature  will 
lead  the  more  difcerning  part  of  mankind 
not  only  to  excufe  great  inequalities  in  .an 
author's  Compofition,  but  even  to  confider 
the  lejs  as  compenfated  fully  by  the  more 
material,  when  the  former  is  uniformly  de- 
fective and  inadequate.     But  this  plea  can 
never  be  admitted,  unlefs  when  there  is  a 
greater  proportion  of  excellence  than  of 

defeft, 


2$4         Philofophical  and  Critical 

defect,  upon  the  whole,  in  a  performance. 
It  would  otherwife  be  preferred  to  no 
other  purpofe,  than  that  of  exciting  indig- 
nation. 

Correct  Competition,  therefore,  as  it 
renders  at  all  times  that  work  the  moft 
valuable  of  which  it  is  moft  univerfally 
•characteriftical ;  fo  within  certain  limits  no 
atonement  can  be  made  for  its  deficiency. 
Thofe,  however,  who  appear  to  have  ex- 
amined this  matter  with  clofe  attention 
are  of  opinion,  that,  excellent  as  it  is,  the 
•defire  of  obtaining  this  character  in  per- 
fection may  be  carried  fo  far  as  to  produce 
bad  confequences,  and  fuch  as  are  detri- 
mental in  particular  to  authors  of  the  moil 
•diftinguifhed  eminence  *.  Thefe  reprefent 
this  taik  of  correcting  every  inaccuracy, 
not  only  as  painfully  minute,  and  dif- 
agreeeaWe  to  a  man  of  genius  f,  but  they 

obferve, 

*  *'  Sunt  fcriptores  (fays  the  Jearned  and  elegant 
Erafmus)  qui  femper  aliquid  addentes,  adimentes, 
immutantes;  &  hoc  ipfo  maxlmt  peccantes,  quia  nibil 
ftccart  conantur."  Chil.  i.  cent.  3. 

t  Ovid  is  very  honeft  hi  making  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  kind* 

Seej* 


Obfervations  on   Compofttion. 

obferve,  likewife,  that  there  is  a  certain 
point  beyond  which  this  affectation  of 
chaftifmg  every  part  to  the  lad  degree  of 
perfection  may  injure  Compofition,  but 
ean  be  of  no  ufe  to  it  *.  They  reprefent 
it  as  an  affiduity,  by  which  the  vigour 
and  energy  of  fentiment  is  drained  away, 

Ssepc  aliquod  verbum  cupiens  mutare,  relinquo  : 

Judicium  vires  deftituuntque  meum. 
Stepe  piget,  (quid  enim  dubitem  tibi  vera  fateri) 

Corrigere,  &  longi  ferre  laboris  onus  : 
Scribentemjuvatipfefavor,minuitquelaborem,  —  Sec. 
Ctrrigere  at  res  eft  tanto  magis  ardua,  quanto 

Magnus  Ariftarcho  major  Homerus  erat. 
Sic  animum  lento  curarum  frigore  hedit, 
Ut  cupidi  fl  quis  fraena  retentat  equi.— 

De  Pont.  lib.  Ep.  9, 

This,  it  mnft  be  owned,  is  the  language  of  indolence,. 
but  it  is  an  indolence  of  which  imaginatisn  is  the 
parent.  A  heavy  author  would  never  talk  in  this 
manner. 

*  4t  Cum  perfeclum  abfolutumque  fit  opus,  non 
fplendefcit   lima,   fed   atteritur"     Plin.    Epift.    lib.  T. 
Epift.  ii.     Dionyfius  cenfures  Ifocrates  for  an  atten- 
tion of  this  kind.    IfOK^atrrt;  -sr«v>i^u^»x«Tf^of  tfi 
Xov  n  ^XAvjxwTf^o?.     Ep^ft  h  TOV  xoo-/xc»  pi 
&C.   Ou     w  awvtfjxo?  Trivotfyw  cfe  rr.v 


TO  &  ^TOV  f£ztcw.      Kai 

re     TUV    ov94UiXTW     cruvt^fiav,     &C.      T   APXAlliN 

ESBTA& 

as 


286          Phtiofophical  and  Critical 

as  it  were,  and  tells  us,  that  a  work  thus 
elaborately  purified,  is  like  a  body  whofe 
richeft  blood,  and  moft  invigorating  juices, 
are  ftrained  off  by  the  phyfician,  who 
leaves  it  an  heavy,  and  inanimated  car- 
cafs  *.  With  regard  to  the  ftyle  of  Com- 
pofition,  it  is  faid  to  be  rendered,  by  at- 
tempting to  deprive  it  of  every  fuperfluity, 
either  fo  dry  and  infipid  as  to  be  read 
with  liftlefs  inattention  f ;  or  fo  fcholaftic 
and  grammatical  as  to  fhow  that  elegance 
is  facrificed  to  precifion. 

But  thefe,  though  errors  that  ought  to 
be  avoided  carefully  by  thofe  who  would 
be  matters  of  the  art,  are  yet  by  no  means 

*  "  Et  ipfa  emendatio  finem  habet.  Sunt  enim 
qui  ad  omnia  fcripta  tanquam  vitiofa  redeant,  &  quaff 
nihil  fas  fit  redhim  efle  quod  primum  eft  melius  exifti- 
ment  quicquid  eft  aliud,  idque  faciunt  quoties  librum 
in  manus  refumpferint  fimiles  medicis,  etiam  Integra 
fecantibus.  Accidit  itaque  ut  cicatricofa  fint,  &  exfan- 
quiat  &  euro  pejora."  Quint,  lib.  x. 

f  "  Non  minus  non  fervat  modum,  qui  infra  rem, 
quam  qui  fupra:  qui  adftri£lius,  quam  qui  efFufius 
dicit.  Itaque  audis  frequenter  ut  illud  immodice  & 
redundanter,  ita  hoc  jejune  &  infirme.  Alius  exctffifle 
materiam,  alius  dicitur  non  implejje.  &que  uterque,  fed 
ille  imbeciliitati>  hie  viribus  peccat."  Plin.  Epift.  lib.  i. 
Epift.  20. 

the 


Qbfervations  on  Compojitton.       287 

the  principal  faults  into  which  authors  of 
the  firft  rank  are  apt  to  be  led,  by  making 
too  much  ufe  of  the  fie  (as  it  may  be 
termed)  in  order  to  give  the  laft  polifh  to 
their  pieces.  It  is  faid,  with  foine  truth, 
that  though  in  confequence  of  this  practice 
a  performance  becomes,  upon  the  whole, 
kfs  apt  to  excite  an  unpleafmg  fenfation 
at  any  time,  than  when  it  obtains  not; 
yet  it  ceafeth  likewife,  by  this  means,,  to 
excite  fo  much  admiration*.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  render  a  work  faultlefs,  it  is 
deprived  of  capital  excellencies ;  and  a  ge- 
nius which  might  have  gleaned  many  a 
wild,  though  exquifite  beauty,  had  it  been 

.  *  Shall  I  offend  any  rational  admirer  of  Pope  (fays 
a  critic  well  qualified  to  judge  of  his  fubjeft)  by  re- 
marking that  fome  juvenile  defcriptive  poems  oF 
Milton  (TA!legro>  11  Penferofo,  and  Ode  on  tha 
Nativity)  as  well  as  his  Latin  elegies,  are  of  a  ftrain 
far  more  exalted  than  any  the  former  author  can  boaft. 
Let  me  add  at  the  fame  time,  what  juftice  obliges  me 
to  add,  that  they,  are  far  more  incorreft.  For  in  the, 
very  Ode  before  us  (that  on  the  Nativity)  occur  one 
or  two  paflages,  that  are  puerile  and  affected  to  a  de- 
gree riot  to  be  paralleled  in  the  purer ,  but  lefs  elevotid 
compofitions  of  Pope.  Effay  on  the  Writings  and 
Genius  of  Pope,  p.  40. 

left 


288          Philofophical  and  Critical 

left  to  expatiate  on  the  common  of  nature^ 
yet  like  a  bird  taken  from  this  field,  and 
confined  within  a  circumfcribed  and  fcanty 
fpace,  it  ranges  among  a  few  objects,  in- 
ftead  of  viewing  an  exhauftlefs  variety, 
and  finds  its  wings  every  moment  repelled 
by  the  bars  of  its  dungeon.  It  is  worth 
while  to  enquire  what  truth  there  is  in  this 
obfervation,  as  this  will  introduce  a  branch 
of  our  fubjecl:  not  yet  touched  upon,  how 
far  the  defire  of  rendering  their  perform- 
ances correct  ought  to  operate  on  writers 
of  exalted  genius. 

This  great  and  extraordinary  quality, 
conftituted  by  the  union  of  the  fuperior 
faculties  in  vigorous -exertion,  is  yet,  no 
doubt,  diftinguimed  principally  by  ftrokes 
derived  from  imagination.  On  this  ac- 
count it  is,  that  as  the  native  bias  of  this 
power  directs  it  to  form  elevated,  forcible, 
picturefque,  or  beautiful  imitations  of  the 
objects  that  pafs  before  it,  we  denominate 
the  genius  of  the  writer  to  be  fublime, 
vigorous,  animated,  or  elegant.  The  in- 
ventive faculty,  therefore,  in  general  deter- 
mines our  application  of  the  word  Genius 

to 


Objervatt'ons  on  Compofifion.       289 

to  any  mind ;  while  the  character  belong- 
ing to  it  is  fixed  by  that  modification 
which  we  perceive  to  take  place.  From 
thefe  principles  it  naturally  follows,  that 
the  higheft  walk  of  genius  is  that  in  which 
imagination  makes  the  greateft  and  moft 
aftoniming  exertions.  But  in  what  cir- 
cumftances  are  thefe  exertions  made  ?  Is  it 
not  neceflary  for  this  purpofe,  that  the 
powder  above  mentioned  mould  be  per- 
mitted to  take  cognizance  of  a  feries  of 
objects,  at  once  great  and  diverfified ;  and 
that  a  field,  proportioned  to  this  diverfity, 
ihould  be  opened  for  its  range,  as  they 
will  thus  be  obferved  to  the  greateft  ad* 
vantage  ? 

That  both  ought  to  take  place  here  will 
not  be  difputed.  It  remains,  therefore, 
that  we  enquire  by  what  means  the  range 
of  imagination  is  moft  contracted,  and  the 
feweft  objects  prefented  to  its  cognizance. 
Both  thefe  are  confequences  of  attending 
clofely  to  the  circumftance  of  jlricl  pro- 
priety in  every  idea,  and  of  beftowing  on 
it  not  the  richeft  colouring,  but  fuch  as  is 

VOL.  II.  U 


290         Philofophical  and  Critical 

moft  decent   and   fuitable.      We   do   not 
deny  that  this  choice  is  made  by  the  un- 
derftanding,  and  that  whatever  receives  its- 
approbation,    will    be    considered    as    the 
fi^teft  and  leaft  exceptionable.     We  mean 
only  to  obferve,  that  in  confequence  of  the 
fevere  invefligation  carried  on  by  this  fa- 
culty,   many  objects  will  be  rejected  as 
unfit,  which  might  have  pleafed  by  being 
decorated  with  certain  admirable  graces  \. 
and  what  thefe  obtain  by  this  intervention 
in  point  of  accuracy,  they  lofe  in  wildnefs,. 
variety,  and  grandeur.    This,  upon  reflec- 
tion, will  appear  not  to  be  an  adventitious 
but  neceffary  effect,  arifing  from  the  ends- 
.  which  the  powers  here  mentioned  propofe 
feparately  to  bring  about,  fancy  attracted 
always  by  beauty^  and  judgment  directed 
by  propriety.     Thefe  ought,  no  doubt,  to- 
be    generally   united    in    ordinary    cafes. 
Elegance  is  improved  by  regularity ;   but 
the  wild  and,  luxuriant  require  it  to   be 
violated.     We  are  pleafed  when  cultivated 
inclofures,  laid  out  with  all  the  improve- 
ments of  art,  terminate  with  the  profpect 

of 


Obfervations  en  Compofition.       291 

of  broken  rocks,  iinmenfe  mountains,  or 
ftupendous  precipices;  in  the  lame  manner 
as  we  prefer  the  irregular  grandeur  of  a 
Gothic  pile,  to  the  molt  perfect  plan  of 
modern  architecture,  executed  with  fo 
much  judgment  as  to  preient  few,  or  no 
objects,  that  require  to  be  rectified.  The 
protuberances  in  both  are  violations  of 
cor  reel  dejign.  But  they  are  fuch  viola- 
tions as  no  man,  poflefled  of  the  leaft 
perception  of  beauty,  would  wifli  to  re- 
move. 1  here  is  a  grandeur  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  certain  objects,  which  com- 
penfates  in  the  eftimation  of  every  beholder 
for  the  defect  of  regularity.  Imagination 
dwells  upon  this  circumftance  with  intenfe 
enjoyment ;  and  reafon  Jiands  a/ide,  as  it 
were,  while  the  mind  is  entranced  with 
its  idea,  and  dafheth  not  its  pleafure  by 
the  thought  of  difproportion. 

Thefe  remarks  bear  a  ftrict  and  obvious 
application  to  the  prefent  fubject.  In  the 
fphere  of  philofophy,  confidered  as  of  the 
moft  extenfive  import,  and  in  every  pro- 
vince that  is  occupied  principally  by  the 
U  2  under- 


292         Phllofophkal  and  Critical 

underftanding,  the  firft  thing  to  be  con-* 
fidered  is  correctnefs  of  difpofition.  A 
writer  can  only  be  faid  to  carry  his  atten- 
tion to  an  extreme  in  this  point,  when  he 
extends  it  to  minute  circumftances ;  or 
by  re-touching  every  part  with  unremit- 
ting affiduity,  deprives  his  work  of  vigour 
and  character.  The  fame  obfervation  may 
be  made  on  hiftorical  Compofition,  and 
on  that  of  eloquence  (as  we  mall  mow 
afterwards),  when  in  the  fimple  proof  of 
any  proportion  the  orator  neither  fpeaks 
to  the  imagination,  nor  toucheth  the  heart. 
But  when  we  confider  the  more  peculiar 
department  of  exalted  genius  in  Compo- 
fition, the  fublime,  and  pathetic,  it  muft 
be  acknowledged,  that  not  only  are  the 
capital  beauties  of  thefe  fuch  as  imagina- 
tion flrikes  out  at  once  in  the  fervor  of 
abftracted  contemplation,  but  when  we 
attempt  to  defcribe  the  circle  within  which 
me  ought  to  be  confined,  her  moil  mining 
attractions  are  no  longer  perceivable,  and 
even  that  character  which  the  clofe  fuper- 
intendence  of  judgment  renders  regular 

and 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       293 

and  confiftent,  becomes  at  the  fame  time 
languid  and  uninterefting  *, 

What 

*  The  chara&er  of  Cato,  in  the  celebrated  tragedy 
of  that  name,  affords  a  pregnant  example  to  the  pre- 
fent  purpofe.  That  this  character  is  juft,  and  ren- 
dered confiftent  by  the  moft  judicious  conduct,  will 
admit  of  as  little  difpute  as  that  the  HamJet  of  t>hake»- 
fpeare  is  frequently  irregular  and  offenfive.  The  for- 
mer (which  Voltaire  affirms  to  be  the  greateft  character 
that  ever  was  brought  upon  any  (bge,  Lettr.  fur  le 
Traged.)  is  uniformly  great,  and  "  nothing  is  uttered 
<{  by  Cato  (as  a  contemporary  critic  juftly  obferves) 
"  but  what  is  worthy  of  the  beft  of  men  "  -Guard. 
Numb.  33.  Hamlet,  on  the  contrary,  fcruplesto  kill 
the  king  of  Denmark  at  his  prayers  Idl  he  fliould 
go  to  heaven,  but  propofeth  to  take  him  in  the  com- 
minion  of  fome  deed,  which  may  make  his  foul  "  as 
damn'd  and  black  as  hell  whereto  it  goes.''  Cato 
utters  no  fentiment  but  fuch  as  reafon  approves,  and 
is  confiftent  with  the  dignity  of  his  rank  and  character. 
Hamlet,  giving  a  loofe  to  the  wildeft  imagination, 
alks  his  friend,  "  why  we  .may  not  trace  the  duft  of 
*'  Alexander  till  we  £nd  it  ftopping  a  bung  hole." 
Act  v.  fcene  i.  Yet  with  all  this  irregularity  in  the 
latter,  Hamlet  is,  upon  the  vhole,  not  only  an  ami- 
able, but  an  exalted  character.  He  holds  (if  we  may 
thus  exprefs  it)  the  keys  of  the  human  heurt^  fr.om  which 
he  calls  out  alternately,  love,  pity,  terror,  indignation, 
grief,  amazement,  horror,  and  anguiih  ;  while  the 
Roman,  with  all  his  perfections,  is  cold  and  uninter? 
<fting.  We  admire  his  virtues,  as  we  may  do  thofe 
»of  a  deceafed  friend  ;— but  the  uniformity  of  thefe  is 
U  -t  fuch 


294         Pkilqfophical  and  Critical 

What  (it  may  here  be  afked)  is  the  ten* 
dency  of  thefe  observations  ?    Is  it  the  au- 
thor's 


fuch  as  that  any  reader  may  guefs  at  the  general  tenor 
of  his  difcourfe  when  he  knows  his  fituation.  He 
cannot,  therefore,  be  much  moved  by  it.  Whence 
does  this  itriking  difference  takes  its  rife?  Without 
afcribing  it  to  a  difparity  of  genius  betwixt  two 
writers,  who  both  do  honour  to  their  country,  we  may 
obferve,  that  the  author  of  Cato  appeal  s  to  have  been, 
too  intent  upon  rendering  his  principal  character  per- 
eft^  to  make  it  deeply  interefting.  Such  a  perfonage 
is  indeed  an  obje£t  of  admiration,  whofe  original  is 
coldly  contemplated  at  a  diftance;  but  it  can  never  be 
fo  of  love,  which  is  only  excited  when  virtues,  weak- 
nefies,  ioibles,  and  bJemiihes,  are  blended  fo  happily 
into  one  piece  as  to  prelent  a  mind  fimilar  in  fome 
refpech  to  our  own  in  order  to  obtain  this  laft  end, 
the  wild  fallies  of  imagination  mnft  be  often  admitted 
into  the  mod  dignified  ipccies  of  Compofition,  whereas 
the  defign  of  the  former  is  incorreft  when  thefe  are  not 
wholly  excluded  Shakefpeare,  therefore,  born  with 
an  unbounded  reach  of  imagination,  lived  in  an  age 
when  he  was  at  liberty  to  indulge  it.  Hence  his. 
FalfinfF,  Hamlet,  Profpero,  Orlando,  and  many  other 
perfons,  are  fuch  juft  pictures  of  human  nature,  repre- 
fcnted  in  every  fphere  of  life,  that  the  fable  of  Narcifius 
may  here  be  faid  to  be  realized  ;  and  while  we  are 
enchanted  with  this  various  aflemblage,  the  poet's  ad- 
drefs  to  him  may  be  applied  with  ftric~r,  propriety  to 
us  in  many  cafes, 

Ifla  repercufiae  quam  cernis  imaginis  umbra  eft. 
and  again, 

tecura 


Qbfervatiims  on  Compofition.       295 

•thor's  intention  to  reprefent  dcflgn  as  in- 
confiftent  with  any  degree  of  excellence, 
and  the  moft  cardefs  writers  as  the  moft 
iuccefsful  ? — As  it  cannot  be  fuppofed, 
that  any  author  will  attempt  to  fupport 
either  of  thefe  aflertions,  we  (hall  now 


tecum  venitque,  manetque 

Tecum  difcedet,  fi  tu  difcedae  poflis. 
But  Addifon,  on  the  other  hand,  flourished  at  a  time 
when  the  principal  excellence  of  Competition  was 
judged  to  be  the  chaflifed  manner  we  are  here  con- 
iidering ;  and,  in  truth,  no  author  ever  obtained  it 
more  thoroughly  than  he.  But  fettered  in  this  pur- 
juit  by  the  laws  of  criticifm,  while  his  eye  was  fixed 
on  propriety,  it  loft  fight  of  nature;  and  that  imagina- 
tion which  difplays  fuch  tnchaotjuf  luxuriance  in  his 
profe  compofitions,  is  rendered  unanimated  in  its  proper 
province  by  caftigation.  Had  Shakefpeare  himfelf 
flouriihed  in  the  age  of  Addifon,  how  many  of  his 
,moft  exquifite  beauties  mull  have  been  facrificed  to 
the  prefervation  of  certain  unities  which  he  hath  noto- 
.rioufly  violated ;  of -rules,  which  a  great  genius  can 
.neither  follow  without  lofing  its  claim  to  originality, 
nor  break  through  without  incurring  the  cenfure  of 
little  minds  unable  to  comprehend  his  motives  !  Even 
the  excellencies  of  this  admirable  writer,  in  fuch  a 
fituation,  would  have  appeared  like  flowers  that  lan- 
guifh  on  the  parterre  when  tranfplanted  from  their 
native  foil,  .fitted  only  to  fhow,  by  difplaying  fome 
charms  in  the^r^n  of  art,  with  what  fupcrior  beauty 
they  would  have  attracted  every  eye  in  the  wlldernefs 
of  nature. 

U  4  pro- 


296          Philofophical  and  Critical 

proceed  to  enquire  how  far  correct  Com-* 
p.  hi  ion  ought  to  be  fludied  in  fcientifkaj 
refeai  ch,  and  in  what  degree  it  fhould  cha- 
racterife  the  higheft  exertion  of  elevated 
genius.  This  is  a  fubjeet  which  we  have 
not  yet  entered  upon,  and  which  will  ferve, 
\vhen  examined  in  its  full  extent,  to  com- 
plete the  view  we  propofed  to  take  of  the 
characters  of  Compofition. 

II.  As  we  have  already  feen,  that  to- 
render  any  branch  of  the  art  here  examined 
correct,  is  the  province  of  understanding, 
we  may  naturally  conclude,  that  this  fig- 
nature  will  prevail  principally  in  fuch 
fpheres  as  the  power  above-mentioned  en- 
grofleth  rnoft  to  jtfelf,  and  in  which  it  is 
leaft  embarraffed  by  the  interpofition  of 
any  other.  Whatever  hath  a  tendency  to 
hurry  the  mind  in  any  of  its  purfuits,  by 
throwing  the  man  off  his  guard,  neceflarily 
imparts  confufion  to  his  ideas,  and  inac- 
curacj  to  his  manner  of  exprefling  them. 
This  effect  arifeth  moft  commonly  from 
fome  improper  influence,  exerted  either 
by  the  imagination,  or  the  paffions.  The 
firft  of  thefe  readers  thoughts  diffufed 

wheo 


Obf creations  on  Compofition.       297 

when  they  ought  to  ftand  clofely  together, 
or  ornamented  when  iimplicity  is  requi- 
fite.  The  latter  not  only  fruflrate,  but 
pervert  reafon  to  wrong  purpofes,  and 
ftamp  upon  the  Composition  of  a  writer, 
the  certain  marks  of  their  own  irregularity. 
\Ve  may,  therefore,  fay  with  Csefar,  in  the 
celebrated  oration  above  referred  to  *.— 
"  Omnes  homines  qui  de  rebus  dubiis  con- 
"  ful'i:.t,  ab  odio,  ;ra,  amicitia,  atque  mi- 
"  feric  -rdia  vacuos  effe  debent.  Haud 
"  facile  animus  wriim  provide!  ubi  ilia 
"  ofHciuat." 

Of  the  inequality  occafioned  by  either 
of  thefe  cauies,  the  Compofition  of  philo- 
fophy  and  hiftory,  ought  to  be  fo  much 
corrected  as  to  exhibit  the  feweft  poffible 
examples.  An  author  ought  likewife,  in 
either  of  thefe  provinces,  to  give  the  clofeft 
attention  to  the  juft  connection  and  dif- 
pofition  of  his  fentiments,  that  thefe  may 
•follow  each  other  naturally,  and  may  form 
altogether  a  body  made  up  of  parts  that 
are  mutually  proportioned.  With  regard 

•  See  feft.  iv.  of  book  II. 


29  8          PhUofophlcal  and  Critical 

to  thofe  enlargements  on  every  topic, 
which  will  occur  to  the  mind  upon  reflec- 
tion, when  its  principal  work  is  over,  and 
thole  little  alterations  which  are  made  with 
the  view  of  iuperfeding  fome  frivolous 
objection,  or  of  rendering  the  import  of 
fome  thought  more  perfpicuous,  there  is 
no  end  of  fuch  indulgence  as  this,  which 
after  all  muft  fail  of  anfwering  any  pur- 
pofe.  Far  from  rendering  fentiments  un- 
exceptionable, this  reliefs  affiduity  ferves 
only  to  throw  an  air  of  perplexity  and 
embarralTment  over  a  performance,  and 
the  writer  can  fcarce  exped:  his  reader  to 
be  pleafed,  when  he  appears  incapable  of 
being  fo  himfelf.  An  understanding, 
whofe  perceptions  of  truth  or  falfhood 
are  originally  clear,  will  place  them  upon 
making  one  comprehenfive  examination 
in  the  moft  fuitable  points  of  view.  But 
when  the  cafe  is  different,  its  utmoft  re- 
peated efforts  may  render  the  perplexity 
ftill  greater,  but  will  never  remove  it. 

We  do  not  mean  here  to  affirm,  as  may 
at  firft  be  fuppofed,  that  after  having  once 
methodifed  and  digefted  his  thoughts,  an 

author 


Obfervations  on  Compofitkn.       299 

author    fhould    not   take    any    fubfcquent 
view  of  thefe.     He  only  can  be  faid  to 
have    made    an    examination    fufficiently 
comprehend ve,  who  not  only  endeavours 
to  turn  a  thought  on  all  fides  in  his  own 
mind,  fo  as  to  judge  of  its  truth,  and  of 
the  exceptions  to  which  it  lies  open ;  but 
who  has,  at  the  fame  time,  a  difpaffionate 
temper   which  fits   him   for  hearing   the 
judgment  of  others,  and  who  readily  fub- 
mits  to  fuch   animadverfions  as  his  own 
reafon,  uninfluenced  by  any  felfifh  motive, 
approves  as  well-founded.     There  is,  we 
may  obferve  in  general,  no  furer  evidence 
of  great  intellectual  debility,  than  thedefire 
which  fome  men  difcover,  not  merely  to 
defend  their  errors,  when  candidly  pointed 
out,  againft  the  exceptions  of  others,  but 
even,  if  poflible,  to  hide  thefe  from  them- 
felves.      A   performance  we   may  fafely 
pronounce,    whatever   excellence   it   may 
poffefs,  muft  fail  of  being  correct,  as  long 
as  its  author  is  aduated  by  this  principle ; 
fmce,  befides  that,  an  impartial  critic  can 
judge  much  more  properly  of  the  elucida- 
tion which  certain  points  may  require  in 

order 


3 DO         Phikfophical  and  Critical 

order  to  produce  their  effect,  than  the 
writer  himfelf,  to  whom  thefe  are  familiar ; 
fuch  conduct,  even  fuppoiing  the  author's 
underitanding  to  be  perfett.  (if  fuch  a  fup- 
pofition  can  be  made  without  a  folecifm  in 
this  cafe),  muft  ftill  be  exceptionable,  while 
he  addrefieth  himfelf  to  thofe  whofe  judg- 
ment is  fallible  and  uncertain.  Upon  the 
whole,  therefore,  the  diftinct  nature  of 
ideas,  as  having  no  coincidence ;  their 
proper  felection,  as  means  to  promote  an 
ultimate  purpofe ;  their  order,  as  mutually 
fupporting  each  other ;  and  their  truth,  as 
evinced  againft  material  objections ; — thefe 
are  points  of  efTential  confequence,  to 
which,  therefore,  great  attention  ought  to 
he  given,  in  order  to  render  trie  fentiment 
of  Compoiition  properly  correct.  But 
when  the  writer  hath  availed  himfelf  of 
the  refources  above-mentioned,  fo  as  to  be 
fatisfied  of  thefe  capital  circumftances,  a 
minute  investigation  carried  on  into  every 
little  error  which  rigid  critjcifm  may 
detect,  is  an  endlefs  labour  at  the  lame 
time  that  it  is  of  no  utility,  becaufe  not 
only  will  one  man  judge  that  to  be  well 

explained. 


Obfervattons  on  Compojition.        301 

explained,  which  another  may  deem  faulty; 
or  that  to  be  perfectly  intelligible,  which 
another  may  have  charged  with  oblcurity ; 
but  even  the  fame  perfon  will  be  found 
to  vary  at  different  times  in  his  judgment 
of  fuch  points ;  and  that  from  caufes  whofe 
influence  is  unavoidable  and  univerfal. 

The  fame  finical  attention  to  exactnefs 
which  is  thus  detrimental  to  philoibphical 
fentiment,  will  be  equally  fo  to  the  lan- 
guage that  conveys  it.     It  is  when  words- 
are    moulded   into   a   certain   form    with 
much  labour,  that  Compofition  acquires  a 
ftiffnefs,  which  we  exprefs  by  faying,  that 
fuch  didtion  fmelh  of  the  lamp^  i.  e.  bears 
the  marks  of  having  been  wrought   up 
with  much  toil  and  difficulty.     Art  (it  is 
univerfally     acknowledged)     makes     the 
higheft  effort  we  exped:  from  her  when 
fhe  difappears  in  an  imitation,  fo  as  to 
leave  no  traces  by  which  her  ftep  may  be 
marked.     It  is  a  miftake  to  fuppofe  that 
this  apparent  want  of  defign  (as  it  may  be 
termed),    is   obtained   by   much  thought, 
and  coils  the  writer  many  elaborate  ex- 
ertions. 


302          Philofophical  and  Critical 

ertions.  In  fad,  it  is  partly  the  effed  of 
that  eafy  freedom  with  which  the  intel* 
ledual  powers  ad:,  when  unreftrained  in 
their  exercife,  by  too  clofe  an  attention  to 
rules ;  and  partly,  of  being  early  accuf- 
tomed  to  the  imitation  of  fome  model  in 
which  this  character  is  confpicuous.  The 
laft  caufe,  in  particular,  operates  much 
more  powerfully  than  we  are  apt  at  firft 
view  to  fuppofe.  That  general  fimilarity 
which  we  obferve  in  the  didion  even  of 
the  moft  approved  contemporary  authors, 
and  which  marks  the  productions  of  an 
age,  as  more  or  lefs  conformable  to  a  cer- 
tain ftandard,  hath  its  origin  in  the  imita- 
tion here  referred  to.  We  have  already 
confidered  this  fubjed  at  fome  length  *. 
It  is  to  the  prefent  purpofe  only  to  obferve, 
that  too  much  attention  to  make  the  ftyle, 
efpecially  of  philofophical  or  hiftorical 
Compoiltion,  correct,  by  attempting  to 
render  every  word  almoft  diftinguifhed  by 
fignificance,  and  every  period  by  being 

*  See  feet.  iv. 

elaborately 


Obfervatwm  on  Compofition.       503 

elaborately  rounded,  introduced!  as  natu- 
rally that  conftraint  into  expreffion,  which 
is  incompatible  with-  correctnefs,  as  the 
deli  re  to  pleafe,  when  too  remarkably  pre- 
dominant, taints  the  manners  with  auk- 
wardnefs  and  refeive. 

The  expreffion  of  a  performance  is, 
upon  the  whole,  fufficiently  correct,  when 
the  character,  whatever  it  may  be  that  is 
required  to  predominate,  is  well  fupported, 
and  the  fault  moft  nearly  allied  to  it  is 
either  wholly  avoided,  or  fo  rarely  and 
i neon fider ably  permitted  to  appear,  as  will 
give  no  offence  to  thofe  who  are  moft  fuf- 
ceptible  of  being  impreffed  by  it.  Thus- 
Simplicity,  a  character  required  to  diftin- 
guiih  every  fpecies  of  Compofition,  ought 
always  to  be  preferved  diftinct  from  a  cer- 
tain plain  and  rnfipid  uniformity  of  dic- 
tion * ;  juft  perfpicuity  from  finical  exact- 
nefs  7 ;  elegance  demanding  eafe  and  har- 
mony, from  quaintnefs  and  affected  bril- 
liance, inconfiftent  with  both  J;  fublimity 

*  Seft.  ii.  f  Sea,  iii.  I  Sea.  iv. 

from 


304         Philofophical  and  Critical 

from  bombafl  * ;  and  energy  from  harfh* 
nefs,  difFufion,  and  obfcurity  f.    We  have 
endeavoured  to  mow,  in  other  parts  of 
this  work,  by  what  means  this  important 
purpofe  may  be  moft  probably,  and  com- 
pletely effectuated,  in  each  of  thefe  in- 
ilances.     The  faults  here   mentioned   are 
fuch,  as  when  taking  place,  univerfally  dif- 
figure  Compofition,  and  deftroy,  in  a  great 
meafure,  the  effect  which  it  is  propofed 
principally  to  bring  about  in  any  branch 
of  it.     On  this  account  they  ought  to  be 
avoided  by  every  writer ;  for  which  end, 
we  have  placed  both  the  excellence,  and 
the  error  refembling  it,  in  one  point  of 
view  before  the  reader,  and  have  illuftrated 
each  by  feparate  examples,  that  having 
both  before  him,  he  may  know,  as  nearly 
as  poflible,  at  what  point  the  former  ob- 
tains in  perfection,  and  when  by  attempt- 
ing to  purfue  it  too  far  he  will  fall  into 
the  laft. 

2.  It  is  a  remark  which  every  man  of 
letters  hath  met  with,  both  in  books,  and 

»  Sett.  v.  f  Sea.  vi. 

in 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       30$ 

in  converfation,  that  rules  in  general  are 
unfavourable  to  the  exertions  of  a  great 
imagination  *  ;  that  on  this  account,  the 
works  upon  which  men  in  all  ages  have 
dwelt  with  the  higheft  admiration,  are  fuch 
as  either  preceded  the  exiflence  of  critical 
inquifition,  or  cannot  yet  fland  the  teft  of 
its  rigid  inveftigation ;  and  that  in  general, 
the  pieces  rendered  by  fevere  attention 
mofl  exactly  conformed  to  a  certain  itan- 
dard,  are  thofe  which  exhibit  the  feweft 
examples  of  confummate  excellence  f» 

But 

*  Some  of  the  ancients  have  for  this  purpofe  given 
fuch  definitions  of  poetry,  as  muft  exclude  the  appli- 
cation of  rules  to  the  art.  Thus  Plato  terms  itj 
Ev9f  »a  Auv»jt*is  &  MIMHZIZ.  A  Latin  critic  expreff- 
eth  himfelf  ftill  more  particularly.  "  Per  ambages* 
Deorumque  minifteria,  &  fabulofum  fentehtiarum  tor- 
mentum  pnecipitandus  eft  liber  fpiritus  ut  potius  fu- 
rentis  animi  vaticinatio  adpareat,  quam  religiofz  ora- 
tlonis  fub  teftibus  fides,**  fays  Petronius  Arbiter, 
fpeaking  of  the  difTerence  betwixt  poetic  and  hiftorical 
narration.  This,  however,  is  carrying  the  matter  too 
far.  But  the  examination  of  both  bdongs  to  another 
part  of  this  work. 

f  As  a  confirmation  of  this  remark  it  may  be 
ferved,  that  the  greateft  genuifes  have  failed  moftcon- 
fnicuoufly  when  they  have  attempted  to  reader  thofe 
'  VOL.  11.  X 


306         Philofophical  and  Critical 

But  thefe  general  obfervations,  however 
true,  anfwer  no  purpofe  of  importance,  as 
long  as  we  do  not  afcertain  the  influence 
which  this  character  ought  to  exert  in  the 
higheft,  as  well  as  in  the  lefs  difficult  de- 
partments of  genius ;  as  it  is  certain  that 
a  performance  of  any  kind,  in  which  no 
attention  is  paid  to  it,  muft  prefent  fuch  a 
jumble  of  incoherent  ideas,  as  no  rational 
mind  can  contemplate  with  fatisfaclion.— - 
It  may,  therefore,  be  proper  here,  to 

pieces  correct  which  attracted  admiration  in  their  ori- 
ginal form.  Bayle  has  preferved  a  curious  anecdote 
to  this  purpofe  of  Taflb,  which  accounts  for  the  dif- 
ference betwixt  his  GierufalemmeLiberata,  and  Con- 
quiftata,  at  leaft  in  fome  meafure.'  In  an  attempt  to 
correct  the  laft  (improperly  conducted  it  fhould  ap- 
pear) he  cancelled  fome  of  the  greateft  beauties,  and 
fubflituted  in  their  place,  others  that  are  unintelligible. 
*'  A  quali  tutti  (fays  the  Italian  critic,  after  having 
enlarged  on  the  former)  gratiffimi  e  giocondiffimi  au- 
venimente  fuftituifle  il  Taflb  cofe  tali  che  fe  con  fem- 
plice  inteiiigenza  debbono  prenderfi,  fono  fi  frivole, 
che  niente  piu,  e  fe  ci  e  dentro  qualche  miftero,  egli 
ci  e  involto  con  tante  ambagi  ch'a  fottrarnelo  non 
bafterebbe  1'ifteflb  Edippo."  Diftion.  Crit.  &c.  Art. 
RONSARD.  The  predeceflbrs  of  this  illuftrious  writer 
in  the  fame  high  department  of  genius,  avoid  a  cen- 
fure  of  this  kind,  by  having  attempted  no  fuch  emen- 
dations. 

enter 


Ob  formations  on  Compojitwn.       307 

enter  into  this  fubjed  a  little  more  par- 
ticularly. 

The  laws  of  criticifm  confidered  as 
fandions  eftablifhed  by  the  understanding, 
for  the  purpoie  of  rendering  any  fpecies 
of  Composition  a  proper  vehicle,  either  of 
emolument  or  entertainment,  various  as 
thefe  are,  may  yet  be  comprehended  under 
the  three  following  heads. — They  are 
either  of  that  kind  whofe  obligation  is  at 
all  times  indifpenfable,  and  which  cannot 
be  violated  without  defeating  the  ultimate 
purpofe  of  the  art : — or  of  fuch  a  nature, 
as  though  always  approved  by  reafon, 
when  juftly  obferved,  may  yet  be  difpenfed 
with  upon  fome  occafions  that  juftify  the 
neglecl:: — or,  laftly,  thefe  confift  of  cer- 
tain incidental  circumflances  tagged  to  the 
former  which  are  eflential,  deriving  their 
origin  from  accident,  and  eftablifhed  prin-* 
cipally  by  ufe. 

Under  the  firft  head  we  may  compre- 
prehend  the  general  method  or  plan  upon 
which  any  piece  is  laid  out,  whether  ob- 
vious or  concealed;   the  tendency  of  its 
X  2  parts 


*<oS         Philofophical  and  Critical 

«J  »/      4 

parts  to  promote  an  ultimate  end ;  the 
union  of  theie  into  one  body,  fo  as  to 
render  it  coherent  and  proportioned ;  a 
depth,  or  ftrength  of  conception,  adapted 
to  the  fubjeft ;  and,  finally,  a  jufl  corref- 
pondence  of  language  to  the  objects,  of 
whatever  kind,  that  are  fet  before  the 
mind.  Thefe  are  principles  which  it  re- 
quires no  great  attention  to  convince  us, 
adhere  to  the  very  eflence  of  Compofition, 
and  cannot  be  difpenfed  with  without  ren- 
dering any  performance  capitally  defective. 
As,  therefore,  the  human  mind  hath  at 
all  times  confidered  thefe  as  fundamental 
rules,  which  muft  be  obferved  in  every  in- 
flance,  the  decifions  of  eriticifm  when  they 
are  violated,  however  fevere,  are  yet  ra- 
tional, and  proportioned  to  the  breach  of 
an  indifpenfible  requifition. 

But  when  fo  much  attention  is  beftowed 
on  the  radical  characters  here  enumerated, 
as  that  reafon  approves  of  them  upon  the 
whole,  as  being  well  preferved ;  there  are 
other  points  in  judging  of  which  this  fa- 
culty relaxeth  of  its  feverity,  and  though 

always 


•Qbfirvations  on  Compofition.       309 

always  fatisfied  when  thefe  are  clofely  ad- 
hered to,  yet  judgeth  their  neglect  upon 
fome  occaiions  to  be  compenfated  by  the 
attainment  of  a  noble  end.    We  may  com- 
prife  in  this  clafs,  the  ufe  of  epifodes,  and 
.digreffive  circumftances,  the  connection  of 
which  with  the  principal  fubjcct,  may  be 
fomewhat    remote ;    the    introduction    of 
images  not  appropriated  with  perfect  ac- 
curacy to  their  originals  ;  thoughts  diftin- 
•guimed  by  a  certain  boldnefs,  fuited  rather 
•to  the  character  of  the  fpeaker  than  to  the 
.occafion,  and  principally  thrown  out  to  fet 
.the  former  in  fome.  new  point  of  view; 
illuftrations    that  are  .beautiful  .rather  as 
diftinct  pictures,  than  as  ftrictly  conformed 
to  a  model ;  and,  finally,  .flights  of  ima- 
gination wholly  excentrie,  and  excufable 
only  on  account  of  their  wildnefs  or  fub- 
limity.     In  thefe  cafes,  as  it  is  neceflary  to 
deviate  from  ftrict  propriety  in  order  to 
raife  admiration,  we  judge  that  a  nobler 
purpofe  is  obtained  by  the  breach  of  an 
.•eitablifhed  law,  than  could  have  refulte<i 
from  a  rigid  adherence  to  it;  and  therc- 
X  3  fore 


3  i  o         Philofofhical  and  Critical 

fore  ceafe  to  apply  it  where  it   muft  be 
deficient. 

Lauly,  we  may  regard  as  circumftances 
wholly  incidental,   derived  from  accident, 
and  eftablifhed  by  cuftom,  ,fuch  rules  as 
regard  the  divifion  of  dramatic  pieces  into 
a  particular  number  of  acts ;  the  opening 
of  an  epic  poem  in  the    middle  of  the 
action  which  it  celebrates ;  an  attempt  to 
comp~ife  it  likewife  within  a  certain  deter- 
minate number  of  books,  as  if  the  fpirit 
of  the  great  matters  of  the  epopcea  would 
be  transfufed  into  him  who  touched  the 
feirt   of  their  garments.      A   fervile   ad- 
herence to  the  unities  of  the  drama,  be- 
longs likewife  to  this  clafs  of  laws,  con- 
fecrated  by  ufe,  rather  than  approved  by 
the  reafon  of  mankind ;  as  the  lofs  of  one 
ftroke  of  nature  and  paflion,  excluded  from 
a  performance  in  confequence  of  fuch  an 
adherence,   and  far  more  the  abfence  of 
many  of  thefe  left  out  by  this  practice, 
will  not  be  thought  by  any  reader  of  dif- 
cernment,  to  be  compenfated  by  the  ftricteft 
pbfervation  of  the  mechanifm  of  the  drama, 

that 


Qbfervatwns  on  Compofition*       311 

that  can  be  fuppofed  to  take  place  in  any 
production  *. 

From  this  general  divifion  of  the  rules 
which  criticifm  hath  eftablifhed  for  the 
conduct  of  Compofition,  it  will  be  readily 
concluded,  that  the  two  laft  clafles  are  the 
only  ones  in  which  genius  may  meet  with 
a  confiderable  (hare  of  indulgence.  The 
principles  laid  down  under  the  firft  head, 
are  altogether  out  of  the  queftion. — But 
here  I  am  aware,  that  a  critical  inquifitor 
may  ftrenuoufly  urge  a  very  plaulible  ob- 
jection.— "  The  laws,  he  may  fay,  by 
"  which  every  fpecies  of  Compofition 
**  ought  to  be  tried,  are  ordained  like  thofe 
"  of  civil  government  in  foine  fenfe,  to 

*  Some  of  the  laft-mentioned  circumftances  (it 
may  be  faid)  ought  not  to  be  included  in  an  enumera- 
tion of  eftabliflied  rules  in  the  province  of  criticifm, 
but  are  rather  arbitrary  modes  derived  from  imitation. 
They  are  here,  however,  confidered  as  rules,  becaufe 
a  performance  would  be  excepted  againft  in  which  the 
leaft  of  them  (that  only  excluded,  which  regards  the 
number  of  books  in  an  epic  poem)  was  omitted;  and 
as  eftallified  rules,  becaufe  with  whatever  truth  reafon 
may  exclaim  againft  their  obfervance  in  particular 
inftances,  cuftom  hath  rendered  it  expedient  to  carry 
them  moft  commonly  into  practice. 

X  "  main- 


312         Philofophical  and  Critical 

<c  maintain  order  in  their  departments, 
"  and  to  fubftitute  in  place  of  a  wild  and 
"  faulty  exuberance,  fuch  judicious  con- 
"  duel:  as  a  fenfible  mind  will  ever  view 
"  with  approbation.  So  intimately  are 
"  thefe  connected  with  each  other,  that 
"  the  leaft  innovation  ought  to  be  con- 
*'  fidered  as  a  precedent  leading  by  natural 
"  fteps  to  the  greateft.  Though,  there^ 
"  fore,  the  higheft  branches  of  Compo- 
"  fition  may  lofe  fome  advantages  by 
"  being  thus  rigidly  conformed  to  efta- 
<c  bliflied  laws,  yet  it  ought  to  be  remem^ 
"  bered,  that  when  this  conformity  is 
"  difregarded,  confufion  muft  immediately 
<c  take  place  of  regularity,  and  that  at 
"  worft,  if  the  mind  is  deprived  of  plea- 
*'  fure  in  fome  inftances  when  certain  rules 
"  are  adhered  to,  it  meets  with  fewer 
"  objects  to  cenfure  than  when  they  are 
*c  violated." 

We  might  reply  in  general  to  this  feries 
of  obfervation,  that  it  would  have  had 
much  more  force  at  any  lefs  enlightened 
period  than  the  prefent,  when  men  were 
nqt  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  tefts 

by 


Obfervations  on  Competition.       313 

by  which  criticifm  tries  every  object ;  be  - 
caufe  the  frequent  violation  of  her  laws 
might  then  have  been  productive  of  con- 
fequences,  which  now,  when  thefe  are  imi- 
verfally  known,  there  is  lefs  reafon  to 
apprehend.  We  will  allow,  however,  fo 
much  weight  to  the  objection,  as  that  in 
order  to  obviate  it  properly  the  reafons 
ought  to  be  affigned  for  which  a  licenfe 
is  (bmetimes  granted  of  deviating  from 
received  principles;  the  cafes  to  be  fpecified 
with  precifion  in  which  this  licenfe  may 
take  place;  and  the  bounds  to  be  affigned 
with  accuracy,  beyond  which  it  ought 
never  to  be  extended.  Let  us  conlider 
each  of  thefe  in  its  place. 

i.  We  have  already  laid  down  in  this 
fedtion,  the  reafons  which  make  it  necef* 
fary  to  grant  an  indulgence  to  writers  of 
exalted  genius,  when  we  find  them  affiim- 
ing  liberties  in  the  two  laft  mentioned 
departments  of  the  laws  of  criticifm,  which 
would  be  juftly  cenfured  in  thofe  of  an 
inferior  clafs.  It  is,  therefore,  needlefs  to 
dwell  on  this  branch  of  the  fubjedt  at  pre- 
fent.  We  may  only  add  to  our  enumera- 
tion 


314         Phllofophical  and  Critical 

tion  of  thefe  caufes,  a  remark  that  may 
reconcile  even  the  moft  rigid  defender  of 
critical  defpotifm  to  the  infringement  of 
its  rules  upon  fome  occafions ; — viz.  that 
the  difcerning  faculty  after  all  is  the  ulti- 
mate judge  to  which  an  appeal  is  made 
concerning  this  infringement,  as  juftified 
or  not  by  the  purpofe  to  be  obtained  by  it. 
Every  deviation  of  this  kind  is  confidered 
as  hazardous.  Curiofity  is  excited  to  trace 
out  its  effect:  and  even  when  fallies  of 
imagination  the  moft  excentric,  bewilder 
the  mind  for  fome  time  in  its  purfuit,  the 
whole  terminates  at  lail  in  this  point, 
whether  thefe,  when  viewed  as  irregulari- 
ties in  the  methodifed  order  of  Compo- 
iition,  are  real  violations  of  an  eflential 
law ;  or  whether  they  are  breaches  of  fome 
fubordinate  nature,  whofe  inequality  may 
be  amply  compenfated  by  the  pleafure  of 
which  they  are  productive.  Of  this  mat- 
ter, the  difcerning  faculty  muft  finally  take 
cognizance.  Of  the  fuperior  powers,  by 
whofe  union  it  is  conllituted,  imagination 
imprefleth  the  idea  in  all  its  ftrength  upon 
the  mind,  and  reafon  enables  it  to  judge 

in 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       31  r 

in  what  refpects  it  is,  or  is  not,  conformed 
to  the  laws  of  criticilm. 

2.  With  regard  to  the  particular  cafes 
in  which  the  neglect  of  correct  Compo- 
fition  may  be  juftified,  we  have  likewife 
mentioned,  in  general,  the  principal  of 
thefe  in  the  enumeration  above  referred 
to.  It  is  a  rule  with  which  we  expect 
writers  of  genius  to  comply,  particularly 
in  the  higher  fpheres  of  its  exercife,  that 
the  epifodes,  or  digreffive  parts  of  a  per- 
formance, fhould  be  wrought  in  fuch  a 
manner  into  the  body  of  the  piece,  as  to 
complete,  inftead  of  disfiguring  its  pro- 
portion; and  mould  appear  like  rays  of 
light,  which,  though  diverging  at  firft  in 
various  directions  from  their  centre,  yet 
may  be  made  to  terminate  in  one  point, 
and  co-operate  in  the  accomplimment  of 
a  general  end.  On  this  account,  an  au- 
thor ought  in  moft  cafes  to  be  cautious, 
both  of  deviating  too  often  from  his  prin- 
cipal fubject  *,  and  of  (hiking  too  far  into 

the 

*  "  Les  Tragedies  les  plus  defeftueufes  font  celles 
4ont  les  epifodes  n'ont  point  de  liaifon  enfemble ; 

Ariftotc 


316         Philofiphicai  and  Critical 

the  paths  that  lead  from  it,  left  he  break 
that  union  of  parts  in   which   excellence 
eonfifts;    and  bewilder  at  the  fame  time 
both  his  reader  and  himfelf  *. — But  this 
rule  is  not  without  exception.     There  are 
circumftances  apparently  remote,  and  even 
foreign  to  the  point  in  view,  that  yet  com- 
penfate  at  laft  for  having  thrown  it  for  a 
time  out  of  the  reader's  fight,  by  that 
light  which  they  are  brought  to  beftow 
upon  it  in  the  end,  as  well  as  by  the  pe- 
culiar beauties  which   thefe   may  poflefs 
when  contemplated  as  diftindl  pieces.     A 
great  genius  far  from  being  expofed  to 
cenfure  on  account  of  fuch  an  introduction 
«f  digreffive  circumftances,  will  be  judged 
on  the  contrary,  to   have  difplayed  con- 
-fummate  maftery  by  the  manner  in  which 

Ariftote  Jes  nomme  e-pifodiquts  c'eft  a  dire  furabondantes 
en  epifodes,  parce  que  ces  moindres  epifodes  ne  peu- 
vent  en  compofcr  un  feul ;  mais  demeurent  necefiaire- 
jnent  en  ,cette  plu/alj,te  vicieufc."  Boflu  du  Pae'n>e 
£pique,  iiv.  ii.  chap.  2. 

*  *'  Les  aclions  les  plus  fimples,  &  les  moins  in- 
triguees,  etoient  le  plus  fujettes  a  cette  irregularite, 
parce  qu'ayaut  moins  d'incidens,  &  moins  de  parses 
aque  les  autres,  elles  fourniflent  auffi  moins  de  ma- 
.tieres,"  fcc.  Jd.  ibid. 

they 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       $lj 

they  are  made  to  fall  at  laft  into  his  nib- 
jedl,  as  harmony  will  thus  appear  to  arife 
from  the  difpofition  of  materials  fo  com- 
plicated as  an  inferior  hand  muft  have  in- 
volved in  confufion  *.  The  law  demand- 
ing exact  proportion  to  be  accurately  pre- 
fer ved  in  every  cafe,  is,  no  doubt,  after  aU 
violated  in  fuch  inftances ;  but  in  this  vio- 
lation we  obferve  a  degree  of  excellence 
difplayed  which  a  tame,  though  faultlefa 
compliance  with  the  rule,  muft  have  effec- 
tually fuperfeded. 

When  again,  we  pronounce  either  a 
particular  thought,  or  a  certain  train  of 
fentiment  to  be  remarkably  bold^  the  idea 
of  temerity  enters  in  fome  degree  into  our 
eftimation ;  and  whatever  bears  the  marks 
of  this  character  excludes  that  of  corrcc~t- 
nefs.  But  a  difcerning  critic  will  weigh 

*  We  have  conGdered  this  fubjecl  at  fo  much 
length  in  a  former  eflay,  and  have  endeavoured  to* 
illuftrate  our  remarks  fo  particularly  to  the  cafe  of 
Pindar,  whofe  digreffions  are  bolder  and  more  excen- 
tric  than  thofe  of  any  other  author  ;  that  we  beg  leave 
to  refer  to  that  piece  the  reader  whom  curiofity  may 
prompt  to  fee  the  obfervations  in  the  text  exemplified, 
tff.  on  Lyr.  Poet.  let.  ii.  p.  95  to  98. 

cue 


318         Phllofophical  and  Critical 

one  circumftance  againft  another,  in  order 
to  know  how  far  an  author  is,  on  this  ac- 
count, an  object  of  admiration  or  cenfure ; 
and  will  confider,  that  what  may  be  un- 
appropriated to  the  occafion,  may  yet  have 
peculiar  merit,  as  being  adapted  to  the 
charadler  of  the  fpeaker  in  fome  branches 
of  Compofition  *  ;  as  in  others,  the  fame 
thoughts  that  ftrongly  evince  the  genius  of 
the  'writer ,  contain  an  impeachment  on  the 
prudence,  or  even  virtue  of  the  man.  As 
critic^  however,  thefe  objects  not  only  ob- 
tain our  forgivenefs,  on  account  of  the 
qualities  which  we  fuppofe  to  have  given 
rife  to  them,  but  even  command  involun- 
tary admiration. 

This  is  the  cafe,  likewife,  with  thofe 
irregular  fallies  of  imagination  which  ap- 
pear to  have  been  thrown  out,  as  it  were, 
at  random,  rather  as  if  the  writer  had  been 
impelled  by  an  enthuliaftic  impulfe,  to 
break  into  fome  abrupt  apoftrophe,  than 

*  Let  the  candid,  and  difcerning,  apply  this  remark 
to  the  buffooneries  (as  they  are  termed)  by  many  of 
the  perfons  introduced  into  Shakefpeare's  plays,  par- 
ticularly in  the  comic  parts. 

like 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.        319 

like  him,  who,  with  both  the  fuperior  fa- 
culties acting  in  juft  combination,  fliould 
conduct  a  regulated  procefs  to  a  period. 
A  piece,  in  which  many  ftrokes  of  this 
kind  were  to  be  met  with,  it  is  confefled 
might  with  juftice  be  cenfured  as  incor- 
rect by  the  judicious;  but  would  it,  there- 
fore,  ceafe  to  be  admired  as  exquiiitely 
beautiful  by  the  difcermng  critic  ? — By  the 
former,    upon  being    tried   by   a  certain 
ftandard,   thefe    might  be  condemned  as 
effufions  u  neon  nected  with  the  fubjecl:,  and 
forming    excrefcencies   that   disfigure   its 
fymmetry  : — by  the  latter,  they  would  be 
prized  as  imitations  of  nature,  the  wildnefs 
or  magnificence  of  whofe  works  compen- 
fate,  in  numberlefs  inftances,  for  an  appa- 
rent irregularity  of  difpoiition  *. — Thus, 
therefore,  in  each-  of  the  cafes  mentioned 

*  The  higheft  productions  of  genius,  and  thofe  in 
which  the  mind  makes  the  mod  aftonifliing  efforts, 
are  the  works  where  we  will  meet  with  examples  of 
the  kind  here  enumerated.  A  feleftion  of  thefe  here, 
would  have  anfwered  little  other  purpofe  than  that  of 
protracting  the  work.  To  a  penetrating  judge  fuch 
beauties  need  not  be  pointed  out,  and  by  readers  of 
another  caft,  they  would  not  be  comprehended. 

here, 


22O         Philosophical  and  Critical 
•j  -/  & 

here,  we  permit  ftrokes  to  be  thrown  into 
Compofition  that  render  it  incorrect  when 
flrictly  examined,  not  merely  without  cen->- 
luring  thefe  on  this  account,  but  even 
with  pleafure,  when  we  reflect  that  a  noble 
purpofe  hath  been  effectuated  in  confe* 
quence  of  an  exertion  not  otherwife  to  be 
allowed. 

3.  But  is  not  (it  will  be  faid)  the  me- 
thod ejj'entially  neceflary,  as  we  have  al- 
ready fhown,  to  be  obferved  in  every  fpe- 
cies  of  the  art,  broke  in  upon  when  fuch 
unlicenfed  freedoms  are  taken  at  any  time, 
and  are  juftified  as  fources  of  happinefs, 
rather  than  overlooked  as  the  confequences 
of  inadvertency?  Or  admitting  that,  in 
fome  few  cafes,  the  delight  with  which  a 
mafterly  ftroke  is  contemplated  may  atone 
for  it  as  the  violation  of  a  rule,  ought  not 
fome  bound  to  be  fixed,  beyond  which  no 
acquifition,  however  eminent,  can  make 
up  for  a  temerity  inexcufable,  as  it  indi- 
cates a  defect  of  underflanding  ?  This  laft 
requifition  is  unqueftionably  reafonable ; 
and  in  order  to  anfwer  it  as  nearly  as  pof- 
fible,  we  mail  here  make  a  few  obfervations. 

3.  The 


bbfervations  on  Compofition.       321 

i.  The  term  incorrctt,  when  applied  to 
any  branch  of  the  art  here  treated  of,  in 
which  we  might  meet  with  fuch  ftrokes 
as  have  heen  enumerated,  would  charac- 
teriie  it,  not  as  a  work  in  whofe  conduct 
no  regard  was  paid  to  an  arrangement  that 
is  indifpenfably  requifite;   but  merely  as 
containing    certain    irregularities,    which, 
without  breaking  the  general  unity  of  de- 
fign,  are  yet  inconfiftent  with  perfect  ac- 
curacy, and  might  be  deemed  fuperfluities. 
That  order  in  which  objects  ought  at  all 
times  to  be  prefented  to  the  mind,  is  then 
only  eflentially  violated,  when  an  undue 
weight  appears  to  be  laid  upon  the  lefs, 
which  thus  take  place  of  the  more  im- 
portant;   or  when    circumftances  wholly 
foreign  to  the  principal  point  are  intro- 
duced, and  are  purfued  without  any  fixed 
intention.    In  thefe  cafes,  inftead  of  a  me- 
thodifed  feries,  we   meet  with  a  promif- 
cuous  jumble  of  difcordant   ideas,  which 
the   mind  can   neither    contemplate  with 
pleafure   nor    information.      In   whatever 
inftances,  therefore,  we  obferve  either  of 
thefe  criteria  univerfally  to  predominate, 
VOL.  IL  Y  no 


: :  2         PMkfsffcical  and  Critical 

no  reader  can  be  at  a  lofs  to  pronounce  a 
fuhable  decifion.— But  it  is  evident,  that 
the  deriations  from  exact  dilpolition,  which 
we  have  reprefented  here  as  ju&nable  on 
ibme  occafions,  fall  not  under  either  of 
theie  heads.    For  it  cannot,  furely,  be  faid, 
that   objects    comparatively   iniignificant, 
are  obtruded  upon  the  reader  in  place  of 
inch  as  have  importance,  when  it  is  only 
in  conibquence  of  the  high  eftimation  of 
thefle,  that  their  introduction  is  rendered 
exccfable-     1  nftead,  on  the  other  hand,  of 
cucumflances  promilcuoufly  afiem  bled,  and 
purfued  without  any  fixed  intention,  the 
ficenfe  here  vindicated  is  principally  that 
which  throws  a  fhong  tight  upon  fome 
capital  objecl ;  and  though  a  large  compafs 
may  be  taken  in  order  to  efiecluate  this 
purpofe,  yet  at  lift  imprefleth  it  with  an 
energy  which  it  could  not  otherwife  have 
acquired. 

2..  As  thofe  liberties  in  Compofition, 
whole  ufe  we  endeavour  to  vindicate,  are 
inch  as  make  no  real  encroachment  upon 
the  order  eftabtifhed  in  every  fpecics  of  it, 
ib  they  can  likewiie  occur  but  rarely  in 
6  any 


Gbjervatiatu  on  Compqfition.       323 

cafe,  and  are  confined  moft  commonly 
(though  not  indeed  always)  to  a  particular 
branch  of  the  art.     Exuberant  imagery, 
daring    appeals,   abrupt    traufiticns,    bold 
fentiments,  and  wild  faliies  of  imagination, 
are  not  often  to  be  met  with  in  the  peruial 
of  any  writings,  and  are  highly  chara&er- 
iftical   of  the    higher    fpecies    of  poetry. 
Bold  and  new  thoughts  often  thrown  out 
without    methodical    accuracy,   will,    no 
doubt,   fometimes  point  out  the  track  of 
philofophical   difcernment,    even   in   that 
iphere  where  corre&nefs  ought  to  be  the 
diftinguilhmg  character.     But  as  it  is  the 
author's  bufinefs  here  not  to  paint^  but  to 
prove   the  truth  of  certain  propbfitions ; 
not  to  dazzle  the  mind  with  novelty,  but 
to  convey  fatisfactory  information  to  the 
underftanding ;  whatever  tends  «to  perplex 
the  reader's  attention,  by  withdrawing  it 
from  the  principal  point,  or  to  render  his 
view  inadequate  by  the  interruption  of  un- 
expected tranfition,  ought  to  be  carefully 
avoided,    as   inaccuracies  which  disfigure 
his  work,  and  which  are  not  to  be  com- 
penfated  by  any  external  advantages  what- 
Y  2  r. 


324         PhilofopJiical  and  Critical 

ever.  Freedom  of  fentiment  he  may  in- 
deed indulge,  and  audacity,  when  thefe 
are  conformed  to  the  ftandard  of  truth, 
will  ferve  to  render  their  impreflion 
ftronger  and  more  permanent.  But  his 
deviations  (if  at  all  allowable)  ought  to  be 
fhort,  even  though  obvioufly  growing,  as 
it -were,  out  of  the  fubjecT:;  his  illuftra- 
tions  calculated  rather  to  mow  truth  in  a 
clear^  than  in  animated  colours ;  and  when 
he  rifeth  to  the  fublime  of  fentiment,  the 
admiration  of  his  readers  muft  be  excited, 
not  by  the  difplay  of  the  writer's  imagina- 
tion, but  by  the  extent  and  compafs  of  his 
judgment,  or  difcernment. 

Hiftory,  whofe  Compofition  is  much 
more  diverfified  than  that  of  philofophy, 
admits  but  rarely  of  the  licenfes  above 
enumerated,  and  would  lofe  its  principal 
excellence,  confidered  as  the  vehicle  of 
facts  related  with  impartial  accuracy,  by 
their  introduction.  The  pen  of  an  hifto- 
rian  muft,  no  doubt,  be  guided  by  the 
events  of  which  he  treats  ;  and  his  diction 
may  with  propriety  be  not  only  forcible, 
but  highly  figured,  when  the  ftronger  paf- 

fions 


on  Compofaion.       325 

fions  are  naturally  awakened  by  the  detail 
of  great  or  interefting  tranfadtions  *.     It 
is,  however,  at  all  times  incumbent  upon 
him  to  avoid  peculiarity,  which  will  al- 
ways expofe  his  candour  to  fufpicion ;  and 
fuch   liberties    in   particular,   as   in  other 
fpheres  of  Compofition  are  viewed  with 
an  aftonifhment  which  fufpends  cenfure, 
would  in   this  be  deemed   indications   of 
undue  partiality,  or  of  an  imagination  not 
properly  temperated   by  the  controul   of 
underftanding.     From  both  thefe  fciences 
the  wild  and  exuberant,  as  deriving  their 
jeffecl:  wholly  from  the  fervor  of  irregular 
imagination,  muft  be  wholly  excluded  at 
all  times  without  exception. 

*  "  Narrat  fane  ilia,  narrat  &  hrec  (fays  a  cele- 
brated ancient,  fpeaking  of  the  difference  betwixt  elo- 
quence and  hiftory),  fed  jlli  oninia  fplendida,  recon- 
riita,  excelfa  convenient.  Hanc,  (oratiqnem)  fdepius 
ofla,  mufculi,  nervi,  illam  (hiftoriam)  tori  quidam  & 
quafi  jubne  decent.  H:ee  vel  ir.axime  vi,  amaritudine, 
inftantia.  Ilia  tra6lu,  &  fuavitate,  atque  etiam  dulce- 
dine  placet.  Poftremo  alia  verba,  alius  fonus,  alia 
conftruclio.  Nam  plurimum  refert,  ut  Thucydides 
ait,  KTHMA  fit  an  AFONI2MA  quorum  alterum 
pratio,  alterum  hiftoria  eft."  Plin.  Epift.  lib.  v. 
ift,  8. 

Y  3  It 


3  2  6         Ph ilofophkal  and  Critical 

It  is,  therefore,  almoft  only  in  the  two 
higher  fpheres  of  eloquence  arid  poetry, 
that  the  delight  with  which  certain  ftrokea 
are  contemplated  by  fuch  readers  as  are 
capable  of  feeling  their  force,  is  judged  fully 
to  corripenfate  for  that  appearance  of  in- 
correftnefs  which  their  admiffion  naturally 
gives  to  Compofition.    With  regard  to  the 
rhetorical  art,  the  leaft  reflection  will  con- 
vince us,  that  with  whatever  precifion  its 
general   laws  may  be  determined,  much 
greater  latitude  may  be  taken  in  this  fphere 
prefenting  an  exhauftlefs  variety  of  fub- 
jeds,  than  in  the  more  regulated  provinces 
of  philofophy  and  hiftory.     In  thefe  laft, 
the  procefs  of  argument  carried  on  from 
lefs  to  more  obvious  truths,  or  the  detail 
of  tranfactions  following  each  other  in  a 
certain  natural  and  eftablifhed  order,  forbid 
the  ufe  of  bold  deviations  in  almoft  any 
cafe ;  becaufe  the  powers  which  it  is  moft 
commonly  propofed  to  imprefs  by  means 
of  thefe,  are  weakly  if  at  all  excited  in  the 
laft  mentioned  departments.     Hiftory,  in-^ 
deed,  fometimes  addrefleth  herfelf  to  the 
paffions,  and  even  adopts,  as  we  have  feen, 

the 


Ofyervafio&s  on  Compqfition.       327 

the  glowing  idioms  of  imagination.  But 
what  in  her  fphere  is  only  a  fecondary 
purpofe,  becomes  a  principal  one  in  that 
of  the  orator ;  and  though  it  is  by  different 
exertions  of  the  intellectual  powers  that 
he  kindles  the  imagination,  and  fpeaks  to 
the  heart  (which  are  therefore  confidered 
as  diftinct  provinces  of  the  art),  yet  the 
boldeft  images  of  the  former  are  intro- 
duced fo  naturally  into  this  laft  addrefs, 
that  we  not  only  excufe  thefe,  but  are 
even  led  to  contemplate  them  with  ad- 
miration *, 

It 


*  Was  it  neceflary  to  eftablifh  the  truth  of  this 
obfervation  by  examples,  we  might  adduce  many  from 
the  higheft  ftandards  cf  eloquence,  both  ancient  and 
modern.  One,  becaufe  it  is  remarkably  finking,  the 
reader  will  perufe  with  particular  pleafure.  It  is  taken 
from  a  maflerly  difccurfc  of  Dr.  Fordyce,  on  the  Folly 
and  Infamy  of  Unlawful  Pleafure.  In  this  defcrip- 
tion  of  the  death  of  an  abandoned  libertine,  wrought 
up  with  ftrokes  that  are  worthy  of  Demofthenes,  he 
hath  contrived  to  heighten  the  pathos  of  the  fcene  by 
admitting  into  it  one  of  the  mod  piclurefque  images 
ever  feized  by  a  fublime  imagination. — "  The  dread- 
44  ful  alternative  (fays  he)  entirely  mifgives  him.  He 
^*  meditates  the  devouring  alyfs  of  eternity  ! — He  recoils 
*(  as  he  eyes  it!" — There  is  fomething  (if  we  may  thus 
Y  4  exprefg 


328         Philofcphical  and  Critical 

It  ought  likewife  to  be  obferved,  that 
eloquence  not  only .  includes  (as  we  {hall 
more  particularly  afterwards)  both 


the 


exprefs  it)  folemn,  and  awfully  pathetic  in  this  defcrip- 
tion,  arifing  from  the  cslaur  that  imagination  cafts  on 
it,  which  without  this  heightening  could  never  have 
taken  place.  It  is  no  doubt  true,  in  general,  that  the 
heart  is  moft  powerfully  imprefied  when  a  few  cir- 
cumftahces  are  exprefled  in  plain,  but  forcible  words, 
and  are  put  together  in  fuch  a  manner  as  to  form  a 
climax.  The  appeals  likewife,  by  which  it  is  moft 
deeply  penetrated,  require  to  be  conveyed  in  few  and 
unornamented  expreffions.  The  exclamation  of  Grac- 
chus, which  Cicero  tells  us  drew  tears  from  every 
hearer,  is  a  mafter-piece  of  this  laft  kind.  "  Quo  me 
rnifer  conferam  ?  (faid  he  foon  after  the  death  of  his 
brother)  quo  vertam  ? — In  Capitoliumne  ? — At  fratris 
ianguine  redundat. — An  domum  ?  Ibi  confpicere  ma- 
trem  miferam,  lamentantemque  &  abjecTam."  De 
Orat.  lib.  iii.  c.  55.  When  the  real  or  fuppofed  fuf- 
ferer  fpeaks  in  the  firft  perfon,  it  is  only  by  fuch  plain, 
though  animated  expoftulations  as  thefe,  that  a  power- 
ful impreflion  can  be  made  upon  the  heart.  It  is 
feldom,  indeed,  that  high  colouring  ought  to  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  pathetic  part  of  a  difcourfe,  unlefs 
\vhen  narration  is  employed  by  fome  third  perfon  to 
accomplish  this  purpofe.  But  genius  claims  as  its 
privilege,  an  exemption  from  thefe  rules.  It  is  one 
of  the  (ignatures  of  this  great  character  to  ftrike  out 
light  from  objects  that  are  commonly  deemed  leaft 
capable  of  producing  it ;  and  even  the  inroads  that  are 
made  by  an  exuberant  imagination,  properly  reguhte'd 

into 


Obfervations  en  Compofitlon.       329 

the  philofophical  and  hiftorical  characters, 
by  uniting  in  its  comprehenfive  fphere  the 
didactic  with  the  narrative  manner;   but 
even  its  principal  ends,  that  of  painting 
in  particular,  and  that  of  moving  the  paf- 
lions,   are  obtained  moft  effectually  by  the 
ufe  of  licenfes,  which  a  rigid  critic  might 
cenfure  as  rendering  the  author's  plan  dif- 
proportioned,  and  his  Compolition  incor- 
rect.    Thus    we    might    pronounce  with 
truth,  that  an  orator,  by  working  up  the 
colours   with  ftudied    attention   in  which 
fome  capital  object  is  pourtrayed,  and  by 
endeavouring  to  catch  every  light  in  which 
it  can  be  expofed  to  advantage,  may  give 
one  branch  of  his  fubject  greater  compafs 
and  extent  than  it  ought  to  poflefs.     The 
fame  remark  may  be  made  of  his  addrefs 
to  the  paffions,  in  which  the  tranfitions 
may  be  too  rapid,  the  appeals  too  daring, 
and  the  topics  of  expoftulation  may  hang 
together  with  too  muchfeeming  negligence 

into  foreign  province^  are  marked  with  fuch  genuine 
flrokes  of  nature  and  originality,  as  that  the  deviation 
from  a  rule  is  wholly  abforbed  in  the  contemplation  of 
the  effect. 

to 


Philofiphic*!  and  Critical 

to  render  the  difcourfe  ftrictly  conformed 
to  the  rules  of  criticifm.  But  the  ftandard 
of  nature,  and  that  of  art,  are  eflentially 
different  in  the  cafes  here  examined.  The 
firft  would  lead  us  to  enquire  whether  the 
orator  in  one  cafe  has  really  placed  the 
object  of  his  attention  in  ftriking  points 
of  view ;  not  whether  thefe  are  numerous, 
but  how  far  each  is  fignificant  and  inter- 
efting.  In  the  other  it  would  fuggeft  to 
us,  that  we  are  not  to  try  any  eloquent  per- 
formance by  the  tefts  above  enumerated, 
as  decifive  of  its  merit,  but  are  to  examine 
a  much  more  important  queftion  for  this 
purpofe,  whether  thefe  correfpond  to  the 
natural  feelings  of  a  fufceptible  temper. 
The  avenues  that  lead  to  the  heart  of  man 
are  fo  various  as  not  to  admit  of  regular 
enumeration.  We  cannot  lay  down  ge- 
neral rules  that  are  fufficiently  compre- 
henfive  of  this  fubject ;  but  no  man  is  at 
a  lofs  to  decide  on  the  tendency  of  a  par- 
ticular means  to  excite  certain  paflions  or 
affections,  becaufe  of  this  he  is  rendered 
fenfible  by  feeling.  Sudden  tranfitions 
have  a  powerful  effect  upon  many  occa- 

fions, 


Obfervations  on  Compojltwn.       331 

(ions,  when  the  heart  is  to  be  penetrated ; 
becaufe  nothing  is  more  natural  in  circum- 
ftances  of  real  diftrefs,  than  to  fly  to  fome 
profpect  whofe  connection  with  that  which 
engrofleth  attention,  may  after  all  be 
merely  ideal.  Appeals  in  the  fame  man- 
ner, and  abjurations  rendered  energetical 
by  certain  awful  and  folemn  circumftances, 
are  the  natural  expreflions  of  paffion  ;  and 
will  be  judged  more  or  lefs  excufable  in 
particular  cafes,  in  proportion  to  the 
ftrength  or  imbecility  of  the  mind  before 
which  they  are  prefented.  A  man  of  weak 
feelings,  and  whofe  exertions  are  propor- 
tionably  feeble,  will  be  ftunned,  and,  as  it 
were,  overpowered  by  an  expreflion  which 
one  of  vigorous  intellects  would  have  con- 
fidered  only  as  adequate  to  the  occafion. 
Nature  is  likewife  happily  imitated  by  an 
apparently  negligent  difpofition  of  objects, 
when  the  pafllons  are  to  be  ftimulated, 
which  hath,  in  this  cafe,  much  greater  effi- 
cacy than  could  have  arifen  from  the 
clofeft  and  moft  exact  arrangement.  The 
mind,  when  giving  vent  to  its  fenfations 
\mder  the  preflure  of  affliction,  is  attentive 

only 


332         Thtkfophlcal  and  Critical 

only  to  the  ftrength  of  its  expreffion,  as 
conveying  thefe  with  adequate  emphafis, 
But  as  its  ideas  at  that  time  fucceed  each 
other  without  much  regularity,  and  are 
thrown  into  language  as  they  occur,  an 
imitation  of  this  diforder,  happily  executed, 
is  a  picture  of  the  human  heart,  and  will 
be  cenfured  only  by  thofe  who  are  either 
deprived  of  fenfibility,  or  who  have  not 
attended  to  its  effects. 

Since,  therefore,  it  will  be  faid,  thefe 
licenfes  have  a  noble  effect  in  fo  many 
cafes,  at  what  point  does  this  effect  ter- 
minate, and  in  what  inftances  are  fuch 
liberties  really  inconfiftent  with  correct 
Compofition  ? — Principally  in  the  three 
following. 

i.  When  fo  little  regard  is  paid  to  the 
eftablifhed  order  of  parts,  as  that  one  power 
of  the  mind  breaks  in  abruptly  upon  the 
province  of  another,  without  aiding  it  in 
the  accomplifhment  of  its  particular  pur- 
pofe.  2.  When  an  author,  not  fatisfied 
with  attracting  his  reader's  aftonifhment 
by  fuperior  excellence  at  one  time,  at- 
tempts to  excite  this  paffion  too  indif- 

crjminately. 


Obfervalions  on  Compofition.       533 

criminately,  and  thus  aflumes  liberties 
upon  every  occafion,  which  a  great  one 
can  only  juftify.  3.  When  ftrokes  of  per- 
fect originality,  whofe  connection  with  the 
principal  fubject  is  at  beft  remote,  are  pur- 
iued  through  circumftances  fo  various  and 
complicated  as  erafe  it  wholly  from  our 
memory. 

A  judicious  author  will  guard  with  par- 
ticular folicitude  againft  the  two  firft  men- 
tioned indulgences,  becaufe  by  breaking 
the  union  of  parts  in  his  piece,  and  by  de- 
ftroying  its  effect,  thefe  exhibit  ftriking 
evidences  of  defective  underftanding.  An 
orator,  who  in  the  firft  part  of  his  dif- 
courfe  fimply  proves  the  truth  of  fome 
propofition,  addrefleth  himfelf  wholly  to 
the  reafon  of  his  hearers.  Strokes,  there- 
fore, however  admirable  when  contemp- 
lated apart,  which  are  derived  from  an- 
other power,  and  are  introduced  without 
any  tendency  to  promote  his  ultimate  pur- 
pofe,  may  be  juftly  cenfured  ;  not  merely 
as  ufelefs  fuperfluities,  but  as  foreign  cir- 
cumftances thrown  without  order  or  pro- 
priety into  a  difcourfe.  Thefe,  by  leading 

the 


334         Philofophical  and  Critical 

the  mind  away  from  the  point  of  which 
it  is  in  purfuit,  inftead  of  throwing  light 
upon  it,  tend  to  violate  an  eflential  law, 
and  break  that  harmony  with  which  the 
fubordinate  parts  of  a  fubjecT:  ought  to 
concur  in  promoting  a  general  end  *. 

Imagina- 

*  Among  the  ancient  and  illuflrious  orators  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  there  are  few  examples  to  be  met 
with  of  the  fault  mentioned  in  the  text.  But  this  de- 
fed:  is  amply  fupplied  by  the  rhetoricians  of  the  mid- 
dle and  dark  ages,  as  well  as  by  modern  writers  of 
this  clafe.  It  is  difagreeable  to  fele£fc  examples  of  fuch 
a  nature  from  works  of  real  ingenuity.  One  however, 
we  fljall  adduce  here  for  the  fake  of  the  Englijb  reader, 
from  a  late  collection  of  difcourfes  which  are  diftin- 
guifhed,  upon  the  whole,  by  no  inconfiderabk  (hare 
of  eloquence.  The  ingenious  Mr.  Seed,  in  a  dif- 
courfe  on  the  duty  of  unreferved  obedience,  propofeth 
to  obviate  this  objection  to  his  do£lrine; — that  it  i* 
inconfiftent  with  the  divine  goodnefs  to  confign  any 
man,  who  ftands  clear  of  all  other  vices,  to  future 
mifery  for  one  habitual  fin.  To  this  he  replies,  That 
future  mifery  i$  the  neceflary  ccnfequence  of  one  habk 
of  fin,  fince  on«  habk  of  fin  disqualifies  us  for  the 
enjoyment  of  heaven. — That  habitual  bad  difpofition, 
fays  he,  which  the  decays  of  the  body  do  not  weaken, 
the  diffblution  of  it  will  not  deftroy. — The  joys  of 
heaven  (fays  he)  are  like  the  beams  of  light:  if  they 
fall  upon  forne  objects  of  a  fuitabie  texture  to  reflect 
them,  as  upon  cryftal,  for  inflance,  they  brighten  ami 
beautify  them  :  but  if  upon  others,  they  are  quite  loft 

and 


Obfervations  en  Competition.        335 

Imagination,  it  is  true,  may  here  be  per- 
mitted to  throw  ftrong  and  lively  colours 
on  the  objects  that  are  fucceffively  con- 
templated. But  in  this  office,  it  will  be 
obferved,  that  me  acts  only  a  fecondary 
part,  by  fetting  off  rational  fentiments  to 
the  higheft  poffible  advantage,  and  thus 
impreffing  thefe  upon  the  mind  with  a 
force  which  they  muft  otherwife  have 

and  ftifled ;  they  prefent  nothing  to  the  view  .but  one 
undiftinguifhed  biacknefs  of  daFknefs. — This  meta- 
phor, the  reader  will  obferve,  hath  no  propriety  as 
an  illuftration  of  the  author's  reply  to  the  objection 
here  propofed,  but  is  fo  general  and  unappropriated^ 
as  to  admit  of  an  application  to  almoft  any  religious- 
rule.  A  correct  writer  will  never  indulge  his  imagin- 
ation in  a  licenfe  of  this  kind,  even  though  it  may 
have  peculiar  excellence  when  contemplated  as  a  dil- 
tinct  picture,  (which  is  not  the  cafe  in  the  prefent 
knftance),  becaufe  it  bears  no  relation  to  a  point  upon 
which  every  circumftance  ought  to  throw  light ;  and 
from  which  fuch  as  are  foreign  ought  to  be  excluded, 
for  the  fame  reafon,  that  when  employed  in  any  bu- 
finefs  that  attracts  very  clofe  attention,  we  abftract 
ourfelves  from  fuch  converfation  as  might  draw  off 
our  thoughts  from  this  point ;  or  fuch  external  objects 
as  might  divert  our  eye.  We  confider  not  in  this  cafe, 
what  attractions  either  of  thefe  may  pofTefs,  had  we 
been  difengaged  ;  but  avoid  them  at  the  time  only  as 
having  no  relation  to  cur  employment. 

wanted : 


336          Philofophical  and  Critical 

wanted  : — whereas  in  the  cafe  cenfufea,- 
this  power  intrudes  as  a  principal  when  it 
ought  to  be  wholly  fubordinate;  and  in- 
ftead  of  promoting  the  fearch  of  truth, 
prefents  objects  wholly  foreign  to  fuch  a 
difquilition. 

If  a  writer  may  thus  be  eenfured  with 
juflice,  who  permits  one  power  of  the  mind 
to  interfere  in  the  province  of  another,  by 
throwing  into  it  ftrokes  that  are  foreign  to 
the  fubject,  we  may  furely  animadvert 
with  the  fame  propriety  upon  Compofition, 
in  which,  by  an  attempt  to  excite  admira- 
tion indifcriminately,  every  part  appears 
to  be  over-wrought ;  and  the  liberties  taken 
at  all  times  are  feldom  juftified  by  the  oc- 
cafion.  Even  though  this  attempt  had  no 
tendency  to  render  Compofition  inaccurate, 
good  fenfe  would  fuggeft  to  the  mind,  that 
it  mufl  defeat  the  purpofe  which  it  pro- 
pofeth  to  bring  about,  even  fuppofing  it 
to  be  purfued  with  fuccefs;  becaufe  an 
object  or  idea  that  is  truly  admirable,  in 
order  to  make  an  adequate  impreffion, 
ought  to  be  placed  among  fuch  as  have  a 
fubordinate  relation  to  it.  By  this  means, 

the 


Qlfervations  on  Compofition.       337 

trie  capital  figure  is  difpofed  properly,  fo, 
as  to  produce  its  full  effect,  and  receives 
fome  additional  grace  from  each  of  thofe 
that  furround  if.  Whereas,  when  we  en- 
deavour to  fhow  all  objects  in  the  fame 
light)  and  to  excite  promifcuoufly  one  uni- 
form paffion,  a  work  riot  only  ceafeth  to 
become  interefting  by  being  deprived  of 
juft  variety,  but  thoughts  deftroy  mutually 
the  effect  of  each  other ;  and  the  glare  that 
is  caft  on  all  parts  prevents  us  from 
fingling  out,  and  from  being  duly  im7 
prefled  by  thofe  which  we  might  otherwife 
liave  dwelt  on  with  admiration. 

But  it  is  principally  to  our  prefent  pur* 
jpofe  to  obferve,  that  the  licence  is  here  car- 
ried too  far ;  and  Compofition  is  rendered 
fo  incorrect  by  this  practice,  as  to  lie  open 
to  the  jufteft  cenfure.  For  as  the  judg- 
ment of  that  writer  muft  be  defective  in  a 
very  great  degree,  which  cannot  eftimate 
the  comparative  value  of  objects,  fo  as  not 
to  know  that  fome  would  be  rendered  ridi- 
culous by  being  reprefented  in  colours  that 
are  fuited  to  others  with  propriety ;  fo  the 
work  of  fuch  a  mind  muft  exhibit  marks 

VOL*  II.  Zi  of 


338         Philofopfiical  and  Critical 

of  this  defect,  fo  univerfal  as  to  render  the 
\vhole  difgufting  to  a  reader  of  penetra- 
tion, when  confidered  as  a  body  that  ought 
to  have  confidence  and  {lability,  in  what- 
ever manner  he  might  be  affected  by  the 
view  of  particular  objects*. 

The  licence  in  the  laft  place,  of  digreff- 
ing  from  the  principal   point  upon  fome 
occafions,  which  is  claimed  by  all  writers 
promifcuoufly  as   accompliihing  purpofes 
of  importance,  is  then  carried  beyond  its 
proper  bound,  when  either  repeated  fo  fre- 
quently as  to  diftract  attention,  or  purfued 
through  fo  many  circumftances  as  to  throw 
the  fubject  which  it  was  introduced  to  il- 
luftrate,  wholly  out  of  the  reader's  eye. 
A  difcourfe,  in  which  this  conduct  is  pur- 
fued, can  have  no  more  connection  than  a 
dream  made  up  of  incoherent  ideas,  and 
muft  argue  an  indulgence  of  imagination 

*  The  Thebais  of  Statius  affords  many  examples 
of  the  fault  here  cenfured,  as  that  writer  appears  to  be 
particularly  fond  of  drefling  up  every  object  in  pom- 
pous and  affe&ed  ornaments.  This  condudl  often* 
prevents  the  effeft  of  his  defcriptions.  Tfce  reader 
may  apply,  as  an  example  of  this  kind,  the  paflage 
quoted  from  him,  fo£t  v. 

wholly 


Obfervatlons  on  Cotnpqfition.       339 

\vholly  unwarrantable,  as  it  is  carried  on 
in  oppofition  to  every  rule  that  is  efla- 
blifhed  by  reafon  *. 

The  obfervations  we  have  made  here, 
upon  the  abufe  of  the  inventive  faculty  in 
the  art  of  perfuafion,  bear  fo  obvious  a 
relation  to  that  of  poetry,  as  to  require  no 
particular  application.  The  only  circum- 
fiances  by  which  the  laft  mentioned  art  is 
peculiarly  diftinguifhed,  are  the  freer  ufe 
of  high  colouring  in  all  fubjecls ;  and  thofe 
irregular  fallies  of  imagination  which  com- 
mand admiration  merely  on  account  of 
their  wildnefs  and  fublimity,  and  whofe 
introduction  would  juftly  be  deemed  inex* 
cufable  in  any  other  fpecies  of  Compo- 
fition.  Thefe  are  of  two  kinds  :  the  firft 
is  conftituted  by  the  exhibition,  though 
perhaps  fomewhat  abru.pt,  of  forne  bold 

*  As  no  poet,  either  ancient  or  modern,  rifeth  to 
inore  ailonifhing  grandeur  fhan  the  Theban  Bard,  fo 
from  none  do  we  meet  with  fuch  inflances  of  an  in- 
coherence wholly  unwarrantable.  The  Ode  infcribed 
©pa<n&nw  ©r,£a»w  FlaJl  IraJWj,  IIT0.  I.  A.  is 
wholly  of  this  kind.  The  imagination  of  the  poet, 
uncontrouled  by  any  other  power,  renders  this  piece 
wholly  excentric,  and  inexcufably  obfcure. 

Z  2  and 


34°         Philofophical  and  Critical 

and  mafterly  figure ;  or  by  an  allegorical 
reprefentation,    purfued    through   various 
circumfbnces,  as  expreffive  of  fome  great 
idea.     The  other  arifes  from  apoftrophes 
ftrongly  animated,  from  daring  and  ori- 
ginal expreflions   thrown  into  a  picture, 
which  give  a  grace  to  the  whole,  that  ren- 
ders it  truly  and  properly  admirable.     Of 
thefe  we  may  obferve,  that  not  only  are 
they  confined  to  the  pathetic  art,  but  it  is 
wholly  into  thofe   branches  of  it  which 
afford  the  wideft  range  to  the  power  of 
invention,  that  they  can  be  darned  (if  we 
may  thus  exprefs  it)  without  giving  of- 
fence.    The  great  matter  of  the  epopcea, 
has  eminently  diftinguifhed  his  principal 
work  by  excellence  of  the  former  kind  *  ; 

and 

*  The  philofophy  of  the  Iliad,  and  the  knowledge 
that  Homer  had  acquired  of  nature,  is  conveyed  in  a 
feries  of  allegories  the  mod  exquifuely  beautiful  that 
the  human  mind  can  be  fuppofed  to  conceive.  Every 
object  appears  to  be  animated  with  life,  by  the  creative 
touch  of  this  exalted  genius;  and  hence  arifeth  that 
perpetual  fucceffion  of  inchanting  forms,  which  keep 
attention  always  awake,  while  we  are  reading  a  work 
which  muft  have  otherwife  excited  unavoidable  fatiety 
from  the  uniformity  of  its  fubjeft.  Among  ftrokea 

thus 


Ofyervations  on  Compq/ition.       341 

and  fome    modern  performances  of   the 

higheft 


thus  conftamly  diverfified,  there  are  fome  diftinguifhed 
by  their  originality  fo  ftrongly,  as  to  fix  the  mind  in 
admiration,  and  whofe  wild  beauty  more  than  con- 
templates for  the  defect  of  ftrict  propriety.  Let  us 
take  one  example.  It  is  in  the  defcription  of  Achilles, 
upon  whofe  appearance  Homer  has  lavifhed  all  the 
powers  of  his  genius,  when  oppofed  in  his  laft  combat 
to  Hector.  After  having  placed  fucceflively  before 
the  eye  his  armour,  his  fhield,  the  plumage  of  his 
helmet,  his  terrific  afpect,  eagle  fpeed,  and  godlike  de- 
meanor, he  paints  him  at  laft  in  the  act  of  waving  his 
fpear,  and  confidering  in  what  place  his  adverfary  is 
vulnerable.  On  this  occaGon,  the  very  point  of  this 
hero's  fpear  muft  be  irradiated  while  yet  waving  in  the 
air,  in  order  to  complete  the  reprefentation.  Obferve 
,the  illuftration. 

Cho?  £  ar»lf  »<rt  pir  arpxtrt  I/UKTO?  apoAj^ 
of  xaAAifo?  £»  ovfatvu  ffxron  ar»!p' 
TrfXapr'  HMXEOJ,  TJV  oto  AftiXXtv; 
pu.  —  IAIAA.  X. 

In  order  to  have  rendered  this  illuftration  Jlriflly  proper, 
Achilles  ought  to  have  been  placed  amorfg  many  war- 
riors whofe  fpears  were  all  waving  together,  but  his 
throwing  a  ftronger  light  around  him  than  any  of  the 
others.  But  who  would  lofe  this  exquifitely  beautiful 
and  picturefque  circumftance,  for  a  fmall  impropriety, 
which  after  all  it  is  impoffible  to  guard  againft  in  every 
inftance,  without  giving  up  the  nobleft  and  moft  fub- 
lime  exertions  of  human  genius  ?  In  the  fame  fpirit  he 
defcribes  the  eyes  of  Hedor  in  another  place,  as 
withering  all  the  ftrength  of  Greece.  Nothing  can 

exceed 


342         Philofophlcal  and  Critical 

higheft  poetic  merit,  afford  the  moft  flrik- 
ing  examples  of  the  latter  *. 

III.  We 

exceed  the  wild  beauty  of  the  expreflion  in  which  this 
idea  is  conveyed. 


OMMAT'  EXHN.  IAIAA.  0. 

This  is  undoubtedly  "  fnatching  a  grace  beyond  the 
reach  of  art,"  if  any  thing  can  be  it.  Perhaps  fome 
readers  will  confider,  as  a  more  ftriking  example  of  the 
licence  which  a  great  imagination  may  indulge  with^ 
out  cenfure,  the  following  fublime  figure  fet  before 
the  mind  in  the  highefl  colouring  which  that  faculty 
can  throw  on  any  object.  It  is  the  defcription  of  the 
Origin  of  Time,  in  the  Night  Thoughts,  a  work  infe- 
rior to  none  of  the  fentimeutal  kind  in  point  of  poetical 
merit.  Speaking  of  the  abufe  of  time,  the  poet  fays, 

Not  on  thefe  terms  was  time  (heaven's  flranger)  fent 

On  this  important  embafiy  to  man. 

When  the  DREAD  SIRE  on  emanation  bait, 

And  big  with  nature  rifing  in  his  thought 

Caird  forth  creation  /  -  - 

Not  on  thafe  terms,  from  the  great  days  of  heav'n. 

From  old  eternity's  myflerioui  orb, 

Was  TIME  cut  off,  and  caft  beneath  the  fkies. 
This  we  muft,  no  doubt,  acknowledge,  has  little  con- 
nection with  the  fentiment  immediately  preceding,  in 
which  we  arc  informed,  that  in  no  inftance  does  this 
god  (as  he  is  called)  Hand  neuter.  The  fucceeding 
lines  correfpond  flill  Jefs  to  it.  But  is  there  a  mind 
animated  with  the  leaftfpark  of  fenfibility^  which  would 
dafti  out  fo  great  an  effort  ©f  the  moft  exalted  genius, 
on  this  accouiU  ?  —  Surely  not.  There  is 


Obf:r  vat  ions  on  Compojition.       343 

III.  We  have  now,  in  following  out  the 
method  laid  down  in  the  beginning  of  this 

fedion, 

fomething  noble  even  in  the  irregularities  of  a  great 
mind,  in  which  the  prefervation  of  its  radical  character 
(when  an  adequate  fubjcft  is  prefented  to  it),  diftin- 
guifheth  it  from  one  of  an  inferior  order,  and  con- 
verts its  very  defects  into  excellencies  ! — 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  writer,  either  ancient  or 
modern,  who  has  mote  the  art  of  rendering  his  figures 
intenfely  animated  and  pi£lurefque  by  certain  daring 
and  mafterly  flrokes  thrown  out  abruptly,  than  the 
divine  author  of  Paradife  Loft.  His  well  known  de- 
fcription  of  Death,  oppofed  to  Satan  in  his  journey 
through  Chaos,  is  wrought  up  with  fome  which  arc 
truly  original. 

Black  it  flood  as  night, 

Fierce  as  ten  furies,  terrible  as  hell,  &c. 
Again, 

The  monfter  moving  onward  came 
With  horrid  flrides  ; — hell  trembled  as  bejtrode. 
Admirable,  however,  as  thefe  are,  the  following  ftroket 
thrown  into  the  defcription  of  Taflb's  Pluto,  is  in  no 
refpecr.  inferior  to  either. 

Roflegian  gli  occhi,  e  di  veneno  infelto. 
Come  infaufta  cometa  il  guargo  fplende. 
The  portentuous  glare  of  the  comet  flafheth  fuddenly 
upon  the  eye  of  the  reader,  and  renders  its  original 
perfectly  picturefque.    It  is  one  of  thofe  daring  images 
xvhich  a  great  genius  can  only  adopt,  and  which  we 
contemplate,  not  with  cenfure,  but  aflonifliment. — 
We  fhould  fwell  this  note  to  too  great  length  by  ad- 
ducing many  examples  of  thofe  expreffions,  diftin- 
Z  4  guifhed 


344         Philofophical  and  Critical 

fection,  endeavoured  to  (how  what  is  un* 
derftood  by  the  term  corretf,  when  applie4 
in  its  moft  extenfiye  fenfe  to  Compoiition; 
what  degree  of  attention  a  judicious  writer 
will  beftow  on  this  character  in  the  vari- 
ous departments  of  fcience ;  in  what  cafes 

guifhed  by  wildnefs  or  fublimity,  which  claim  admi- 
ration in  poetry.  Let  us,  however,  juft  mention  one 
of  the  fudden  apoflrophe  that  fo  powerfully. excites  this 
paflion.  When  Macbeth  is  juft  fetting  about  the 
murder  of  Duncan,  and  has  difmifled  his  fcrvant,  we 
expeft  from  him  fome  difcourfe,  intermixed  with  exr 
preflions  of  horror  and  remorfe,  which  the  mind  natu- 
rally fuggefls  on  the  eve  of  fome  defperate  and  wicked 
attempt.  'But  inftead  of  thefe,  his  entranced  imagina- 
tion prefents  to  him  a  dreadful  obje£l,  and  he  breaks, 
put  at  once  into  the  exclamation, 

Is  this  a  dagger  that  I  fee  before  me", 

The    handle  tow'rd  my   hand  ? — Come   let   me 

clutch  thee ! 
jind  a  little  after, 

I  fee  thee  ftill, 

And  on  thy  blade  and  dudgeon  gouts  of  blood^ 
Which  was  not  fo  before. 

This  addrefs  is  more  abrupt  and  daring,  than  any  of 
which  a  ftudied  difcourfe  could  have  admitted,  in 
vhich  the  paflions  were  to  be  excited  by  rules,  how- 
ever clofely  thefe  might  be  adhered  to.  But  here  it 
*  flrikes  with  irrefiftible  energy,  and  is  admirable  as  a 
deviation  from  thofe  very  laws,  whofe  application  in 
W  inferior  branch  of  the  art,  would  have  led  us  to 
eenfure  any  fimilar  indulgence  as  a  violation  of  order. 

•  vf..i.       V      .          .......  .  .1    O   ,, 


Obfervations  on  Compaction. 

this  attention  may  be  carried  too  far ;  and, 
laftly,  we  have  attempted  to  afcertain  the 
bounds  within  which  the  licence  of  dif- 
penfmg  with  rules  that  is  fometimes 
claimed  by,  and  allowed  to  genius  in  fome 
inftances,  ought  always  to  be  confined. 
It  remains  only,  in  order  to  render  our 
view  of  this  fubjecl:  complete,  that  we 
point  out  the  moft  proper  methods  of  ac- 
quiring an  excellence  fo  univerfally  at- 
tended to ;  as  neceflary  to  fum  up  our  ob- 
fervations  on  the  moft  diftinguifhing  cha- 
racters of  the  art. 

We  mall  enter  moft  effectually  into  the 
queftion  which  it  is  here  propofed  to  ex- 
amine, by  confidering  Compofition  in  its 
moft  extenfive  latitude,  as  confifting  of  the 
union  -of  fentiment  and  expreffion  *.  As 

no 

T    * 

*  Quintilian  ftates  this  point  with  great  propriety. 
"  Proxima  flylp  Cogitatio  eft,  quse  &  ipfa  vires  ab 
hoc  accepit,  &  eft  inter  fcribendi  laborem,  extempora- 
lemque  fortunam,  media  qusedam,  &  nefcio  an  ufus 
frequentiflimi." — Again  he  fays.  "  Neque  vero  re- 
rum  ordinem  modo  (quod  ipfum  fatis  erat)  intra  fe, 
ipfa  (cogitatio)  difpofuit,  fed  verba  etiam  copulat, 
fotamyue  ita  contexlt  orationenty  ut  nibil  ei  prater  manum 


346          Phllofophical  and  Critical 

no  performance  can  be  pronounced  correct 
in  which  there  is  not  a  jufl  correfpondence 
betwixt  thefe;  and  as  we  have  already 
fhown  that  they  are  not  neceffariLy  con- 
nected with  each  other,  in  the  fame  man- 
ner as  a  caufe  and  an  effect ;  we  fhall  ex- 
amine feparately  by  what  methods  each 
may  appear  in  the  leaft  exceptionable  light, 
and  the  concurrence  of  both  may  effectuate 
that  purpofe  which  it  is  propofed  ulti- 
mately to  obtain. 

r.  To  render  the  fentiment  of  Compo- 
fition  correct,  conlidered  wholly  as  a  dif- 
tinct  branch  of  the  art,  the  following 
things  appear  to  be  neceffary.  i.  That 
thd  thoughts  mould  have  a  ftriet  relation 
to  fome  principal  point,  and  grow, 'as  it 
were,  naturally  out  of  the  fubject.  2.  That 
thefe,  inilead  of  being  treated  in  the  fame 
uniform  manner,  mould  be  explained  with 
a  care  proportioned  to  their  nature,  and 
degrees  of  importance.  3.  That  they 

debet"  The  reader  of  tafte  will  be  pleafcd  with  the 
laft  words  of  the  fentence  particularly,  which  exprefs 
the  author's  meaning  with  much  elegance.  Inftit. 
Jib  x.  c.  6. 

fhould 


Obfervations  en  Competition.       347 

fhould  be  ranged  in  perfpicuous  order,  fo 
as  gradually  to  open  upon  the  mind  of  the 
reader,  and  place  the  ultimate  end  clearly 
and  forcibly  in  his  view,  as  he  makes  his 
approach  to  it. 

i.  By  thoughts  that  grow  out  of  a  fub- 
jecT:,  we  underftand  fuch  as  naturally  tend 
to  produce  that  effect:,  whether  of  proof, 
illuftration,  perfuafion,  or  defcription,  to 
which  they  are  applied.  When  this  ten- 
dency ceafeth  to  take  place,  correct  defign 
is  effentially  violated;  nor  is  the  depart- 
ment in  which  an  author  is  employed  of 
any  confequence,  as  an  apology  for  an  in- 
dulgence of  this  kind.  In  order  to  obtain 
a  point  of  fuch  confequence,  the  writer 
ought  not  only  to  keep  his  eye  fteadily 
fixed  both  on  the  general  end,  and  on  the 
fubordinate  purpofes  which  he  may  ac- 
complifh  in  the  courfe  of  his  procedure; 
but  as  it  is  difficult,  efpecially  in  works 
of  length,  and  when  the  parts  are  compli- 
cated ;  to  avoid  the  intermixture  of  foreign 
objects  with  thofe  that  are  directly  to  the 
purpofe,  he  ought  to  revife  his  perform- 
ance when  his  mind  is  cooled,  at  intervals 

of 


Philojbphical  and  Critical 

of  leifure,  from  the  ardor  excited  by  a  con- 
ftant  fluctuation  of  ideas  *  ;  and  exclude 
from  it  thofe  fentiments,  however  juft  or 
ftriking  when  viewed  apart,  which  he  dif- 
covers  to  be  protuberances  that  disfigure 
his  work;  or  fuch  ufelefs  members  of  it 
as  may  be  lopped  off  without  injuring  its 
proportion  *f.  It  will,  no  doubt,  require 
confiderable  refolution  to  carry  this  admo- 
nition jleadily  into  practice,  becaufe  vanity 
(the  moft  powerful  of  the  paffions)  muft 
be  mortified  by  it;  and  the  attractive  or 
entertaining,  give  place  to  the  ufeful.  But 
this  facrifice  will  be  made  with  lefs  reluct- 
ance when  it  is  confidered,  that  by  divert- 
ing Compofition  of  fuch  adventitious  and 
frivolous  circumftances,  the  effect:  of  what 
is  retained  will  be  more  fenfibly  felt,  and 
every  thought,  as  of  importance  to  the 

*  c<  Hsec  (Cogitatio)   inter  medios  rerum  adlus, 
aliquid  invenit  vacui,  nee  otium  patitur."     Id.  ibid. 

•f   Ex  TU;  aMzyyvrt  TOD    iTn^f^r^arof  ctvirocMvov  T* 
TO  £^>*  i^»!f  uvj/of  EN  o  ^05/0? 


iv 
xai 


en4 


Obfervations  on  Compojition.       349 

end  in  view,  will  make  that  impreffion 
which  ought  moft  naturally  to  arife  from 
it.  Thoughts,  on  the  contrary,  or  embel- 
limments  that  tend  rather  to  mow  an  au- 
thor's genius,  than  to  promote  his  purpofe, 
while  they  gratify  a  temporary  deilre, 
eflentially  injure  his  work.  By  diverting 
trie  mind  to  objects  foreign  from  the  point 
to  be  contemplated,  thefe  make  it  lofe  that 
thread  -which  would  have  led  it  by  eafy 
fleps,  if  kept  always  in  pofleffion,  to  the 
end  originally  propofed. 

2.  As  fentiments,  in  order  to  be  correct, 
ought  in  this  manner  to  have  a  clear  rela- 
tion to  fome  ultimate  purpofe,  it  is  no  lefs 
neceflary  that  an  author  mould  vary  his 
method  of  unfolding  or  enforcing  thefe, 
according  to  their  natures  and  degrees  of 
importance.  No  man  needs  to  be  in- 
formed, indeed,  that  fome  thoughts  either 
as  being  more  abftracted  in  their  nature, 
or  demanding  illuftration  from  the  place 
which  thefe  occupy,  or,  finally,  in  confe- 
quence  of  the  weight  that  refts  upon  them 
in  any  branch  of  Competition,  require  to 
be  explained  with  greater  compafs  and 

pre- 


350         Philofophical  and  Critical 

precifion  than  fuch  as  are  recommended 
by  none  of  thefe  diftindions.  But  ready 
as  we  are  to  make  this  general  acknow- 
ledgment, it  happens  frequently,  that  the 
jnoft  frivolous  parts  of  a  fubjed  are  thofe 
upon  which  the  greateft  attention  appears 
to  have  been  bellowed ;  a  conduct  that 
naturally  renders  the  whole  obfcure,  and 
deflroys  its  efred.  This  propenfity  takes 
its  rife  often  in  men  of  genius,  from  the 
defire  of  obtaining  a  certain  end  as  quickly 
as  poffible ;  in  the  purfuit  of  which  they 
go  forward  with  fuch  rapidity  as  prevents 
them  from  contemplating  at  leifure,  the 
various  means  that  conduce  to  its  attain- 
ment. In  confequence  of  this  condud,  the 
author's  inclination  takes  the  lead  at  many 
times  of  his  underftanding ;  and  inftead 
of  unfolding  at  length,  and  with  particular 
accuracy  thofe  branches  of  a  fubjed,  or 
thoughts  which  though  perhaps  the  leaft 
fhowy,  are  yet  of  the  greateft  importance, 
he  expatiates  improperly  on  parts  that  are 
recommended  by  novelty,  or  may  be  laid 
open  with  the  greateft  facility.  Impartial 
refledion  muft  fuggeft  to  us  the  many 

a 


Obfervafions  on  Composition.        351 

difadvantagcs  arifmg  from  this  indulgence 
of  an  unwarrantable  propenfity,  by  which 
a  man,  capable  of  thinking  deeply  as  well 
as  clearly,  gives  up  his  pretenfions  to  both, 
in  order  to  follow  a  whimfical  bias ;  and 
deprives  his  performance  of  its  principal 
merit  by  attempting  to  fix  the  reader's  at- 
tention moft  intenfely  on  thofe  objects 
which  contribute  leaft  to  promote  the  fcope 
he  hath  in  view. 

It  is  by  an  effort  of  judgment,  not  ex- 
erted at  different  times,  but  carried  uni- 
formly into  exercife,  that  the  confequences 
of  indulging  this  bias  will  be  prevented. 
The  mind,  it  is  no  doubt  true,  may  be 
mifled  in  its  eftimation  of  objects,  fo  as  to 
permit  the  frivolous  to  take  place  of  the 
ufeful  in  the  heat  of  Compofition ;  in  the 
fame  manner  as  a  man  of  difcernment  in 
characters,  may  prefer  tinfelled  oflentation 
to  merit  modeftly  attired,  while  he  is  hur- 
ried by  bufmefs,  or  duped  by  prejudice : — 
but  in  both  cafes,  it  is  by  recollection  that 
the  error  is  detected ;  and  the  trivial  dif- 
placed,  however  elaborately  decorated,  to 

make 


352         Phiiofophicat  and  Critical 

make  way  for  what  has  real  utility  *. 
negle&ing  to  purfue  a  courfe  fuch  as  is 

here 


*  The  obfervations  made  on  this  fubjeft  may  re- 
quire perhaps  to  be  exemplified,  as  many  readers,  whcV 
are  not  accnftomed  to  fearch  out  the  lefs  obvious  ex- 
cellencies of  Compofition,  and  who  want  leifure  for 
this  talk,  may  be  at  a  lofs  to  apply  general  remarks  ori 
fuch  a  theme,  until  they  are  thrown  into  the  proper 
track.  It  happens  luckily  for  us  at  prefent,  that  in  a 
periodical  performance  of  diftinguithed  merit,  we  meet 
with  an  example  perfectly  to  the  purpofe.  Addifori 
fays,  in  one-of  his  Spectators,  that  "  notwithstanding 
*'  we  fall  fhort  at  prefent  of  the  ancients,  in  poetryi 
"  painting,  oratory,  hiftory,  architecture,  and  all  the 
'*  noble  arts  and  fciences,  which  depend  more  upori 
*c  genius  than  experience  -r  we  exceed  them  as  much 
*'  in  doggerel,  humour,  burlefque,  and  all  the  trivial 
"  arts  of  ridicule." — This  fine  obfervation  (it  is  well 
remarked  by  the  author  of  that  excellent  paper,  enti- 
tled, the  Adventurer),  ftands  in  the  form  of  a  general 
afferticn.  He  examines,  therefore,  its  truth  by  an  in- 
duction of  particulars,  and  confirms  it  by  examples. 
Adven.  vol.  iv.  No.  127,  133.  Without  entering 
particularly  into  the  truth  of  this  remark  (as  to  which 
we  might  differ  from  both  thefe  writers,  refpedhble 
as  they  are),  we  may  only  obferve  from  it,  that 
thoughts  that  are  of  much  ufe  when  enforced  with  a 
certain  degree  of  energy,  may  yet  be  overlooked  by 
the  greater  number  of  readers,  when  the  proper  em- 
phafo)  if  we  may  thus  exprefs  it,  is  not  laid  upon  them 
by  the  writer ;  and  though  it  is  otherwife  in  the  Cafe 
here  fpecifiecJ,  yet  neither  hath  an  author  reafon  to 


Obfervations  on  Compofition.       353 

liere  pointed  out,  works  in  which  there 
is  a  very  high  degree  of  merit  are  ren- 
dered obfcure  to  the  greater  number  of 
readers  ;  nor  can  their  opinion  be  cenfured 
as  ra(h  or  ill-founded.  For  however  in- 
trinfically  excellent  many  fentiments  may 
be  in  a  work  of  which  thefe  ought  to  con- 
flitute  the  principal  ornaments,  yet  it  is 
not  furely  the  reader's  bufinefs  to  fearch 
them  out,  if  they  are  placed  in  difadvan- 
tageous  points  of  light  by  the  writer. 
The  latter  may  direct  the  attention  of  the 
former  to  run  in  any  channel  that  he  may 
cut  out  for  it.  If  parts,  therefore,  com- 

expect  that  his  readers  in  general  will  be  qualified  to 
feel  the  force  of  truths,  even  the  moft  important,  when 
not  confirmed  by  fatisfaQory  evidence ;  nor  if  they 
fhould,  that  any  of  them,  like  the  prefent  ingenious 
critic,  not  fatisficd  with  his  own  perception  of  fuch  a 
truth,  will  endeavour  I  ike  wife  to  render  its  influence 
and  evidence  univeifal.  He,  therefore,  who  fixeth  his 
attention  upon  the  point  of  utility,  ought  always  to 
remember,  that  in  order  to  gain  this  ejid,  he  muft  fel- 
dom  ajjert  without  entering  into  the  proof  of  his  prin- 
ciples; and  that  it  will  often  be  neccflary  for  him  to 
a£l  in  oppofition  to  the  impulfe  of  inclination,  when 
rcafon  informs  him  that  by  complying  with  it,  he  will 
at  Jeaft  conceal  what  has  genuine  excellence  j  if  he 
does  not  really  facrifke  it  altogether  to  obje£bthat  arc 
comparatively  frivolous  and  nfclefs. 

VOL.  II.  A  a  paratively 


354         Philofophical  and  Critical 

paratively  mean  are  wrought  up  fo  highly 
as  to  conceal  thofe  that  are  of  greater  con- 
fequence,  he  is  under  obligation  to  the 
few  who  may  clear  thefe  diamonds  from 
the  rubbim  that  fur  rounds  them,  but  ought 
to  confider,  as  the  effect  of  fo  injudicious 
a  conduct,  the  cenfure  which  will  in  ge-* 
neral  be  paft  upon  the  whole,  as  either 
unintelligible,  or  containing  little  to  the 
purpofe. 

That  the  error  here  expofed  may  be 
effectually  avoided,  a  judicious  writer  will 
find  it  neceffary  to  guard  againft  the  im- 
pulfe  of  imagination,  as  this  power,  even 
when  it  fubfifts  in  the  higheft  degree,  is. 
always  ready  to  beftow  the  higheft  colour- 
ing on  thoughts  that  ftrike  by  their  bril- 
liance, rather  than  on  fentiments  that  im- 
prefs  conviction  by  their  importance, 
This  is  a  point  which  it  rather  demands 
refolution,  than  any  great  degree  of  atten- 
tion to  carry  into  practice.  A  moderate 
fhare  of  this  laft  will  enable  an  author  to 
diftinguifh  objects  of  real  utility,  from 
fuch  as  are  adventitious,  or  ornamental. 
But  it  may  require  no  inconfiderable  effort 
\.o  cancel  a.  favourite  illuftration,  not  be- 

caufe 


Qbf equations  on  Competition.       355 

caufe  inadequate  to  its  pattern,  but  merely 
as  an   urmecefiary  embellifhment;  and  to 
fubftrtute  in  its  place,  the  proof  of  fome 
proportion  that  may  have  been  defectively 
laid  open ;    the  completion  of  forne  evi- 
dence that  may   not  have  been   fuitably 
enforced ;  or  the  illuftration  of  a  thought 
lefs  fufceptible  of  ornament ;  and  to  render 
which  energetical,  fancy  is  brought  with 
difficulty  to  give  her  concurrence.    Habit ', 
therefore,   is  every  thing  in  fuch  cafes  as 
the  prefent.     When  the  mind  hath  been 
accuftomed   to    examine   its   productions, 
with  the  view  of  placing  in  ftrong  lights 
fuch  objects  as  have  primary  confequence, 
without  regarding  them  merely  as  agree- 
able;   reafon  will   acquire  by  degrees  fo 
much   command   over  the  other  powers, 
that  even  when  icleas  are  crouding  toge- 
ther  moft  clofely,  and  when  imagination 
catcheth  fome  with  eagernefs,  it  will  check 
the  career  of  this  faculty  ;  and  will  render 
its  images  fubfervient  to  the  purpofe  of  elu- 
cidating points  of  importance,  fo  as  to  pre- 
vent future  and  difagreeable  emendations. 

3.  We  mentioned,  as  the  laft  circum- 

ftance-  necefTary  to  render  the  fentiment  of 

A  a  2  any 


3-56         Philofophical  and  Critical 

any  performance  correct,  its  being  placed 
in  fuch  exact  difpofition  as  gradually  to 
open  with  new  evidence  upon  the  mind 
of  the  reader  as  he  proceeds,  that  the  ulti- 
mate purpofe  of  the  work  may  be  fhown 
in  a  ckar  and  flriking  light  as  we  ap- 
proach to  it.  To  go  about  to  prove  that 
thoughts  cannot  be  correctly  or  judicioufly 
put  together^  when  this  regularity  is  not 
obferved,,  would  be  wholly  impertinent. 
We  have  enlarged  at  fo  much  length  on 
the  fubject  of  method  in  every  branch  of 
Compofition,  that  without  falling  into- 
repetition,  little  can  be  added  on  this- 
point.  In  order  to  be  thoroughly  mailer 
of  a  fubject  (efpecially  of  one  tha,t  is  com- 
prehenfive)  an  author  ought  to  weigh  the 
principal  topics  feparately  in  his  mind,, 
and  to  turn  each  upon  every  fide,  fo  as  to 
judge  of  the  lights  in  which  it  may  be  ex- 
pofed  to  the  beft  advantage.  After  having 
marked  down  fuch  obfervations  as  occur 
to  him  on  each  part  contemplated  by  itfelf, 
it  will  be  proper  for  him  to  compare  them 
together;,  that  he  may  judge  of  their  mu- 
tual coherence,  as  well  as  of  their  extent, 
as  including  what  is  necefiary  to  be  ad- 
vanced* 


Obfervations  on  Composition.       557 

vanced  *.  When,  the  writer  hath  once 
formed  a  general  eftimate  of  this  kind, 
with  whofe  accuracy  he  is  fatisfied,  he 
hath  only  further  to  take  care  in  the  de- 
lineation of  particular  parts,  that  his  eye 
when  taking  cognifance  of  one  obje&,  may 
not  be  diverted  toothers,  as  being  fimilar, 
until  his  firft  purpofe  is  accomplifhed ;  be- 
caufe  the  mind  is  unavoidably  embarraffed 
by  having  things  of  different  kinds  pre- 
fented  before.it  at  the  fame  time,  and  can 
delineate  neither  with  precifion.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  never  lofing  fight  of  his 
principal  end,  an  author  proceeds  through 
the  intermediate  fleps  with  deliberate  re- 
collection f,  he  will  moil  probably  accom- 
plifh  his  own  defign  effectually,  by  taking 
in  every  means  that  conduceth  to  gain  it; 


*  This  procedure  conftitutes  what  an  ancient  critic 
denominates  TO  JIPEIION  TH2  TAHmZ,  the 
Decency  of  Order,  which  he  afcribes  fo  particularly 
to  Lyfias.  AJJTTTEOV  3s  TO  Txcrn-ov  TTJJ  T«£iwf  Trxpx 
Auo-w.  AIONTZ.  ATS. 

f  To  this  purpofe  is  the  judicious  Roman's  ob- 
fervation. 

Ordinis  haec  virtus  erit  &  venus  eft,  aut  ego  fallor 
Ut  jam  nunc  dicet,  jam  nunc  debentia  dici 
Pieraque  differat,  &  pre/ens  iu  tempus  omittat.  HOR. 

and 


35  8         Philofophical  and  Critical 

and  will  place  each  of  thefe  in  its  propef 
place  fo  diftinctly  before  his  readers,  as  at 
the  fame  time  to  imprefs  conviction  upon 
his  underftanding,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
means  that  produced  it  upon  his  memory. 
2.  Thus  far  we  have  endeavoured  to 
fliow  what  requifitions  are  neceflary  to 
render  fentiment,  confidered  by  itfelf,  as 
the  moft  important  branch  of  Compofition, 
properly  correct.  In  order  to  obtain  this 
character  in  perfection,  it  is,  however,  in- 
difpenfibly  neceffary,  that  a  jufl  corre- 
fpondence  of  language  to  thoughts  thus 
accurately  difpofed  mould  take  place  *,  as 
without  this  harmonious  concurrence  the 
compofition  muft  be  effentially  defective. 

This 


T»i?   (AivToi    cfyuyns    TUV   TSiAuita    TO   XUXAJCV. 
ruv       riAKTiTJi,(i)v   rr,f  Ai^£a)f   TO  pt^&xtuoi{   OVK 
<ya.p    r,    Ai«vo«%    uroAAxxjj    ra 


xa»  T»  xoy  Xinrmit  TO 


T?)  At^«  roe,  von/xara.  AIONT2.  AAIKAP.  ISHK. 
It  may  not  be  improper  to  fubjoin  this  critic's  judg- 
ment with  regard  to  the  moft  perfect  exprefiion,  from. 
his  excellent  treatife  n^»  2TN0ES.  ONflM.  En 
AI£K  KPATIITH  DAZ 
HXI  |!A5TaCoA«f 

as  EHI2  «r»oscu.     Kat 


Obfer  nations  on  Compoption.       359 

This  laft  is  (as  we  have  already  fhown)  a 
coniequence  invariably  arifing  from  the 
former.  Obfcurity  in  the  manner  of  ex- 
preffing  ideas,  indicates  always  fome  em- 
barrafTment  in  their  original  formation; 
and  he  who  is  able  to  feparate  thefe,  and 
range  them  under  proper  heads,  will  never 
be  at  a  lofs  (if  he  beftows  fuitable  atten^ 
tion  on  this  circumftance)  to  convey  them 
to  the  minds  of  others  with  adequate  per- 
fpicuity.  As  we  have  endeavoured  in  can- 
vaffing  this  branch  of  our  fubject,  to  fhew 
in  what  manner  every  character  of  the 
ftyle  of  Compofition  may  be  obtained 
in  the  higheft  perfection,  we  refer  the 
reader  to  the  concluding  article  of  each 
preceding  fection,  for  fatisfadion  on  this 
head,  along  with  what  is  faid  on  it  in. 
the  prefent. 


D  Tsr^iooj  ix.  wXiiovuv  TrAjJttjTai  xoAwu  ;  rttii  i  f 
7ovuv.  Auray  J1?  Twi/  xcXwu  TO  jtAfw  Ppa^UTf^cv  TO  SB 
potxfOTtfov,  &c.  Vid.  Rapin.  AIONT2.  ITrFPAM, 
torn.  ii.  p.  2p.  edit,  Lip. 


FINIS, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


NO  PbLONE 

TO7D  10  UW 


JAN  2  3  1987 


RENEWALS 


3  1158009079335 


A     000144499     1 


I 


s