Nunc ad Te, & tua, magne Pater, consulta revertor.Si nullam nostris ultra spem ponis in armis,Si tam deserti sumus, ut semel agmine versoFunditus occidimus, nec habet fortuna regressum;Oremus pacem, & dextras tendamus inermes.Quanquam ô! si solitæ quicquam virtutis adesset;Ille mihi ante alios fortunatusque laborum,Egregiusque animi, qui, ne quid tale videret,Procubuit moriens, & humum semel ore momordit.To you, great Monarch, and to your Debates,I now return. If you no more reposeHope in our Arms; if by one Battle lost,We perish whole, and Fortune knows no Change;Let us beg Peace, and stretch our Hands unarm'd.(Yet Oh! did any of our pristine WorthAnd Virtue still remain; that Man to meWould in his glorious Toils most blest appear,Who, rather than behold a Thing like this,Fell once for all, and dying bit the Ground.)
Nunc ad Te, & tua, magne Pater, consulta revertor.Si nullam nostris ultra spem ponis in armis,Si tam deserti sumus, ut semel agmine versoFunditus occidimus, nec habet fortuna regressum;Oremus pacem, & dextras tendamus inermes.Quanquam ô! si solitæ quicquam virtutis adesset;Ille mihi ante alios fortunatusque laborum,Egregiusque animi, qui, ne quid tale videret,Procubuit moriens, & humum semel ore momordit.
To you, great Monarch, and to your Debates,I now return. If you no more reposeHope in our Arms; if by one Battle lost,We perish whole, and Fortune knows no Change;Let us beg Peace, and stretch our Hands unarm'd.(Yet Oh! did any of our pristine WorthAnd Virtue still remain; that Man to meWould in his glorious Toils most blest appear,Who, rather than behold a Thing like this,Fell once for all, and dying bit the Ground.)
Reverence due to Majesty requir'd thatTurnusshould direct his Discourse fromDrancesto the King, by some solemn Address. But afterdextras tendamus inermes, toQuanquam ô! si solitæ quicquam virtutis adesset, the Transition is sudden, and unexpected. The Mind, by this Means, is transported from one Contrary to another; a sure Indication of the Force of Eloquence, and of its powerful Operation on its Hearers.
In Narrations 'tis no small Art to make a Transition from one Fact to another: Several Instances of this, we have inOvid'sMetamorphoses, the Nature of which Work requir'd them; where the Connection, indeed, is sometimes neat and artful, sometimes hard and forced, not to say ridiculous.
Under this Head we may reckon those Excursions of another kind, in which the Poet, by some sudden Allusion or Comparison, diverts from his Subject to a new Matter, and immediately returns to it again. I shall explain myself better by Example.Juvenal, describing the various Inconveniencies of the City, mentions these, among the rest:
[186]——Rhedarum transitus arctoVicorum inflexu, & stantis convicia mandræ,Eripiunt somnum Druso, vitulisque marinis.The Drover who his Fellow Drover meetsIn narrow Passages of winding Streets;The Waggoners that curse their standing Teams,Wou'd wake ev'n drowsyDrususfrom his Dreams.Dryden.
[186]——Rhedarum transitus arctoVicorum inflexu, & stantis convicia mandræ,Eripiunt somnum Druso, vitulisque marinis.
The Drover who his Fellow Drover meetsIn narrow Passages of winding Streets;The Waggoners that curse their standing Teams,Wou'd wake ev'n drowsyDrususfrom his Dreams.Dryden.
His Intent, as I said, was to recount the Disadvantages of a City Life; and mentioning, among them, the Obstructions in the Streets, from Chairs and Coaches, he takes Occasion, by the bye, to reproach the Sloth and Laziness ofDrusus. So again, enumerating the Miseries of Old Age, he adds:
[187]——Circumsilit, agmine facto,Morborum omne genus; quorum si nomina quærasPromptius expediam, quot amaverit Hippia mœchos,Quot Themison ægros Autumno occiderit uno,Quot Basilus socios, quot circumscripserit HirrusPupillos,&c.In fine, he wears no Limb about him sound:With Sores and Sicknesses belleaguer'd round:Ask me their Names, I sooner cou'd relateHow many Drudges on saltHippiawait;What Crouds of Patients the Town Doctor kills,Or how, last Fall, he rais'd the Weekly Bills;What Provinces byBasiluswere spoil'd,What Herds of Heirs by Guardians are beguil'd.Dryden.
[187]——Circumsilit, agmine facto,Morborum omne genus; quorum si nomina quærasPromptius expediam, quot amaverit Hippia mœchos,Quot Themison ægros Autumno occiderit uno,Quot Basilus socios, quot circumscripserit HirrusPupillos,&c.
In fine, he wears no Limb about him sound:With Sores and Sicknesses belleaguer'd round:Ask me their Names, I sooner cou'd relateHow many Drudges on saltHippiawait;What Crouds of Patients the Town Doctor kills,Or how, last Fall, he rais'd the Weekly Bills;What Provinces byBasiluswere spoil'd,What Herds of Heirs by Guardians are beguil'd.Dryden.
These Excursions are chiefly suitable toSatire; and there's no Branch of it attended with greater Wit and Poignancy.
I have not Room here, to treat ofComparisonsin the Manner they deserve; they being so various, that they would require an entire Dissertation. When they are ill drawn, nothing is more ridiculous; when well, nothing more beautiful. No kind of Style is excluded from them, and they are not only an Ornament, but often an Illustration of the Subject.They ought always to appear natural, never forced, or far fetch'd. Avoid, therefore, the Fault of those Writers, who find out what they callSimiliesfirst, and afterwards Matter to apply to them. Not that they are guilty of it, whose Comparisons don't in every Respect coincide with what they were brought to illustrate. Even the most elegant of them agree sometimes with the Description but in one Adjunct. ThusVirgil, in the eighthÆneis:
[188]Dixerat; & niveis hinc atque hinc Diva lacertisCunctantem amplexu molli fovet: ille repenteAccepit solitam flammam; notusque medullasIntravit calor, & labefacta per ossa cucurrit.Haud secus atque olim tonitru cum rupta coruscoIgnea rima micans percurrit lumine nimbos.She said; and round him threw her snowy Arms,And warm'd him, wav'ring, with a soft Embrace:He soon receives the wonted Flame, which fliesSwift thro' his Marrow, and his melting Bones;As when in Thunder, lanc'd along the Sky,A Streak of Fire runs streaming thro' the Clouds.
[188]Dixerat; & niveis hinc atque hinc Diva lacertisCunctantem amplexu molli fovet: ille repenteAccepit solitam flammam; notusque medullasIntravit calor, & labefacta per ossa cucurrit.Haud secus atque olim tonitru cum rupta coruscoIgnea rima micans percurrit lumine nimbos.
She said; and round him threw her snowy Arms,And warm'd him, wav'ring, with a soft Embrace:He soon receives the wonted Flame, which fliesSwift thro' his Marrow, and his melting Bones;As when in Thunder, lanc'd along the Sky,A Streak of Fire runs streaming thro' the Clouds.
Upon a nice Scrutiny, the Parallel between Love and Thunder will hold but very little: And yet no good Judge, I believe, will dispute the Elegance of the above Comparison.
On this Head our Moderns seem to excel the Ancients, and to have found out an Use of Comparisons which they were utter Strangers to. Theirs are merely ornamental; ours often contain the Points of Epigram, the Jibes of Satire, and the Banters of Comedy; an Art whichOvid,Martial,Juvenal,HoraceandTerenceknew very little of. It will not be allow'd me to produce Instances here; but innumerable I could produce, if a Mixture of different Languages, and especially of our own,would not sound disagreeable in theseLatinDissertations[189]. 'Tis true, Tragic and Epic Poets ought totally to avoid these witty Allusions; which are below the Severity of their Style, and the Dignity of their Compositions. The Comparisons that serve for Illustration only, come within their Province; such as we meet with very frequently inHomerandVirgil: Tho' (to say the Truth) even the best Writers among the Ancients seem on this Head to labour under a Poverty of Matter. In the Description of a Battle, for Instance, the Similes of a Lion, a Bull, a Serpent, an Eagle, and other Animals of the fiercer kind, recur too frequently under some small Variations. But in After-Ages the Increase of Arts, and Sciences, and of Religion more particularly, open'd a new Field, which has minister'd abundantly not only to the Emolument of Mankind in general, but in this, and in all other Respects, to the Refinement of Wit.
If I must give my Opinion of thoseluxurious Comparisonsthat deviate from the Subject, whichHomer, chiefly, among the Ancients, andMilton, among the Moderns, run into; I must confess, they neither deserve Commendation, nor are capable of Defence. But as they have the Sanction of so great Authority, it is not for me to pass Judgment on them, but leave every one to follow his own.
If I remember right, there are few or no Similes in the Tragedies of the ancient Poets. Among the Moderns, no kind of Writing abounds more with them; and it must be own'd, they are often much to be admir'd: But very different are some of these; such, in particular, as are introduced uttered by Persons labouring under the Height of Passion, or in the Agonies of Death; than which, nothing can be more absurd, or unpardonable.As I have casually mention'd this Error in Writing, I would farther observe, yourpretty Thoughts, as they are commonly call'd, are neither suitable in a Passion, nor proper to raise one; they only serve in Descriptions to play upon the Imagination, not to put the Affections in Motion. A Breast struggling with Anger, Grief, or Desire, is little sollicitous to express its Anguish in fine wrought Turns of Wit, which will never be able to move the Reader to any Thing else but Madness at the Author's Folly. The plainer Commotions of the Mind are express'd, the better; here the chief Elegance is to want Ornament, and 'tis the great Master-piece of Art to conceal itself in representing Nature. Some Figures, indeed, are not only allowable in these Cases, but necessary; those, in particular, which impress upon the Mind the various Conflicts of the Soul; for such are the Language of Persons who feel these Tumults, tho' they were never taught to express them by the Rules of Rhetoric. But Metaphors and Antitheses, and all Decorations of that kind, must be us'd sparingly, excepting only those Metaphors which Orators sometimes call forth to express their Rage, with all the Fire of Eloquence. This I then rather observe, that I might not seem to contradictLonginus; who, speaking of a Multitude of Metaphors, says[190], they are then most useful,when the Passions swell like a Torrent. He produces an Instance out ofDemosthenes, where the Orator indeed appears in Agitation; but still they are different from those we are now speaking of, and not so much the Effect of Nature, as of Art: And even here the Metaphors are far from being bold, nor much distorted from their literal Sense. 'Tis certain,Longinusdid not propose this as ageneralRule; nor is it possible to represent those Throws and Laboursof the Soul in Oratory, which appear in Tragic and Epic Characters; where Joy, Grief, and Anger, glow more intensely, as well as more naturally. But if the Orator feels the same Emotions, and in the same Degree, it is certain he must abstain from the abundant use of Metaphors.
Eleventh Lecture.
Before I conclude this Dissertation, I would lay before my Audience, as clear an Idea of the different Kinds of Thought which have not yet been touch'd upon, as Words can convey, and so nice a Subject will admit of. TheMordacityof thesevereandjocoseSatire, has been already describ'd, and some Examples produc'd of each.
There are Thoughts, likewise, of thedelicateKind, whose Excellence does not consist in theirAcuteness, but in an artful and agreeable Turn; which don't strike the Imagination at once with Wonder; but move it gently, with a more even Tenor. In this soft Strain,Phædrabegins her Epistle to her dearHippolytus:
[191]Qua, nisi Tu dederis, caritura est ipsa, salutemMittit Amazonio Cressa puella viro.That Health,Hippolytus, from me receive,Which to the Writer you alone must give.
[191]Qua, nisi Tu dederis, caritura est ipsa, salutemMittit Amazonio Cressa puella viro.
That Health,Hippolytus, from me receive,Which to the Writer you alone must give.
I could easily have excusedOvidmaking use of so beautiful a Turn twice, if he had kept it without any Variation. For in hisMetamorphoses,Bybliswrites to her Brother almost in the same Terms:
[192]Quam, nisi Tu dederis, non est habitura, salutem,Hanc tibi mittit amans.Thy Lover, gentleCaunus, wishes theeThat Health, which thou, alone, canst give to me.Steph. Harvey, Esq.
[192]Quam, nisi Tu dederis, non est habitura, salutem,Hanc tibi mittit amans.
Thy Lover, gentleCaunus, wishes theeThat Health, which thou, alone, canst give to me.Steph. Harvey, Esq.
But here, for want of the Wordipsa, the Elegance is quite lost, and the Emphasis spoil'd. In the same Poet,Helen, under a Pretence of dissuadingParisfrom persevering in his Addresses to her, pays a Compliment to his Beauty, and shews the just Sense she has of her own; and, at the same Time, artfully insinuates, that she has no Aversion to his Love, but rather a secret Passion for him: And expresses all this with wonderful Address, in one Verse:
[193]Disce, meo exemplo, formosis posse carere.From my Example learn,To bear the Want of what has Pow'r to charm.
[193]Disce, meo exemplo, formosis posse carere.
From my Example learn,To bear the Want of what has Pow'r to charm.
Nothing can be more ingenious. This single Line so teems with Thought, that it would bear, nay require a long Examination, to discover all its Beauties. At every Word some new Idea arises, which I shall, at present, leave to the Reflection of others, that I may not anticipate so great a Pleasure. Under this Head ofdelicate Thought, we may reckon that celebrated Compliment with whichHoracebegins his Epistle toAugustus:
[194]Cum tot sustineas, & tanta negotia solus,Res Italas armis tuteris, moribus ornes,Legibus emendes; in publica commoda peccem,Si longo sermone morer tua tempora, Cæsar.When you alone sustain the weighty CaresOf all the World, and manage Peace and Wars:TheRomanState by Virtue's Rules amend,Adorn with Manners, and with Arms defend;To write a long Discourse, and waste your Time,Against the publick Good, wou'd be a Crime.Creech.
[194]Cum tot sustineas, & tanta negotia solus,Res Italas armis tuteris, moribus ornes,Legibus emendes; in publica commoda peccem,Si longo sermone morer tua tempora, Cæsar.
When you alone sustain the weighty CaresOf all the World, and manage Peace and Wars:TheRomanState by Virtue's Rules amend,Adorn with Manners, and with Arms defend;To write a long Discourse, and waste your Time,Against the publick Good, wou'd be a Crime.Creech.
The Address is as genteel as it is ingenious, and it ishard to say whether we should admire in it more the Poet, or the Courtier.
Strong Thoughtsare such as strike us neither withAcuteness, theirSuddenness, nor theirDelicacy; but are full of Sense and Solidity, carry Weight in their Meaning, and sink deep in the Understanding. As in that ofVirgil:
[195]Disce, Puer, virtutem ex me, verumque laborem,Fortunam ex aliis.True Toil and Virtue learn, dear Youth, from me;Fortune from others.
[195]Disce, Puer, virtutem ex me, verumque laborem,Fortunam ex aliis.
True Toil and Virtue learn, dear Youth, from me;Fortune from others.
For it is a great Mistake to think, that Gravity and Severity in Writing is inconsistent with Wit and Ingenuity. There's Elegance in moral and philosophical Reflections; and nothing can have more of it than those Sentences that are scatter'd up and down in the Narrations, but especially the Speeches, inVirgil. In the eleventhÆneis, the confederateLatinPrinces deliberate in Council what Steps to take after their late Defeat;Turnus, in a Speech upon that Occasion, observes, that since they had Forces enough left to continue the War, they were not reduced to the sad Necessity of suing for Peace. The moral Reflection he introduces, will be clearer seen, by considering the Verses before and after it.
[196]Sin & Trojanis cum multo gloria venitSanguine, sunt illis sua funera, parque per omnesTempestas; cur indecores in limine primoDeficimus? cur ante tubam timor occupat artus?Multa dies, variusque labor mutabilis ævi,Rettulit in melius; multos alterna revisensLusit, & in solido rursus fortuna locavit.Non erit auxilio nobis Ætolus, & Arpi?At Messapus erit, &c.If Glory to our FoesCame purchas'd at a vast Expence of Blood:If they too have their Fun'rals; and thro' allThe Tempest rag'd with equal Fury; whyFaint we inglorious, in the first Attempt,And shrink with Fear before the Trumpet's Sound?Oft has Vicissitude of changeful TimeBy various Turns to better State restor'dDistress'd Affairs: Many with pleasing SportFortune, alternately revisiting,Has mock'd, and on a solid Base repos'd.Will notÆtolian Arpigive us Aid?Yet willMessapus, &c.
[196]Sin & Trojanis cum multo gloria venitSanguine, sunt illis sua funera, parque per omnesTempestas; cur indecores in limine primoDeficimus? cur ante tubam timor occupat artus?Multa dies, variusque labor mutabilis ævi,Rettulit in melius; multos alterna revisensLusit, & in solido rursus fortuna locavit.Non erit auxilio nobis Ætolus, & Arpi?At Messapus erit, &c.
If Glory to our FoesCame purchas'd at a vast Expence of Blood:If they too have their Fun'rals; and thro' allThe Tempest rag'd with equal Fury; whyFaint we inglorious, in the first Attempt,And shrink with Fear before the Trumpet's Sound?Oft has Vicissitude of changeful TimeBy various Turns to better State restor'dDistress'd Affairs: Many with pleasing SportFortune, alternately revisiting,Has mock'd, and on a solid Base repos'd.Will notÆtolian Arpigive us Aid?Yet willMessapus, &c.
Theseechoing Turns, much affected by the Moderns, tho' little us'd by the Ancients, have sometimes their Beauty, sometimes not: I can by no means agree with a certain Writer of ours, who tells us, that there's only one Example of this Kind inVirgil, and instances in that ofOrpheuslooking back uponEurydice:
[197]Cum subito incautum dementia cepit amantem,Ignoscenda quidem, scirent si ignoscere Manes!When suddenly a Frenzy seiz'dTh' unwary Lover; yet a venial CrimeCou'd aught be venial, when theManesjudge.
[197]Cum subito incautum dementia cepit amantem,Ignoscenda quidem, scirent si ignoscere Manes!
When suddenly a Frenzy seiz'dTh' unwary Lover; yet a venial CrimeCou'd aught be venial, when theManesjudge.
He might with more Justice have produced that famous Sentence in the secondÆneis:
[198]Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem.To vanquish'd MenThe only Safety is to hope for none.
[198]Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem.
To vanquish'd MenThe only Safety is to hope for none.
Or those melodious Verses in the eighth Eclogue:
[199]Sævus amor docuit natorum sanguine matremCommaculare manus: crudelis tu quoque mater;Crudelis mater magis an puer improbus ille?Improbus ille puer, crudelis tu quoque mater.Inhuman Love th' unnat'ral Mother taughtTo dip her Hands in her own Children's Blood:Cruel indeed the Mother; was she thenMore cruel? or more impious that dire Boy?
[199]Sævus amor docuit natorum sanguine matremCommaculare manus: crudelis tu quoque mater;Crudelis mater magis an puer improbus ille?Improbus ille puer, crudelis tu quoque mater.
Inhuman Love th' unnat'ral Mother taughtTo dip her Hands in her own Children's Blood:Cruel indeed the Mother; was she thenMore cruel? or more impious that dire Boy?
You see what a beautiful Effect this Repetition of the Words and Thoughts has; and how much Melancholy it adds to the Complaint. It is obvious from hence to observe, thatVirgilcould have far excell'dOvidin these lighter Conceits, if he had not chose to let his Genius soar to much higher Flights. Under this Head we may add the following Passage fromOvid:
[200]Si, nisi quæ facie poterit te digna videri,Nulla futura tua est; nulla futura tua est.If to no Charms thou wilt thy Heart resign,But such as merit, such as equal thine;By none, alas! by none thou canst be mov'd,Phaonalone byPhaonmust be lov'd.Pope.
[200]Si, nisi quæ facie poterit te digna videri,Nulla futura tua est; nulla futura tua est.
If to no Charms thou wilt thy Heart resign,But such as merit, such as equal thine;By none, alas! by none thou canst be mov'd,Phaonalone byPhaonmust be lov'd.Pope.
The Elegance of these Lines consists in giving a new Sense to the same Words; they reverberate, as it were, the Motions of the Mind, and by that Means affect it with Surprize and Admiration. But there are many who love to be sporting thus with Words, that are even without Meaning, and have no Thought in them to be reflected. They are a sort ofnominalTurns, that our Youth are wonderfully studious of, especially in their Prose Writings, and which conduce not a little to the Corruption of their Taste.
There are Thoughts, likewise, of near Affinity with these, that consist inContraries, and are sometimes beautiful, often ridiculous. Of the beautiful Kind, is that ofMartialtoCæsar:
[201]Vox diversa sonat, populorum est vox tamen una;Cum verus patriæ diceris esse Pater.While you their Country's Guardian they proclaim,Their Tongues are diff'rent, but their Voice the same.
[201]Vox diversa sonat, populorum est vox tamen una;Cum verus patriæ diceris esse Pater.
While you their Country's Guardian they proclaim,Their Tongues are diff'rent, but their Voice the same.
Ovidwith less Success:
[202]Non ego poscenti quod sum cito tradita Regi,Culpa tua est; quamvis hoc quoque culpa tua est.
[202]Non ego poscenti quod sum cito tradita Regi,Culpa tua est; quamvis hoc quoque culpa tua est.
In the former Instance, there's only aseeming Contrariety, which is built upon solid Truth; the latter approaches too near a Contradiction, I fear, indeed, it is one. To many of these elegant Fancies (among the Admirers of which Crowds of our modern Writers are desirous of being number'd) that Sneer ofMartialmay with much Justice be applied:
[203]Pauper videri Cinna vult, & est pauper.Cinna's as really poor as he wou'd seem.
[203]Pauper videri Cinna vult, & est pauper.
Cinna's as really poor as he wou'd seem.
They are seemingContradictions, and (strange as this new Species of Wit is) are in Reality what they seem: Or, if they deserve any better Name, they are an empty Sound of Words,meer Noise, and Nonsense.
Tho' the greatest Part of modern Wit turns entirely on this playing upon Words, I don't mean in Conversation only, (where these Trifles are hardly, very hardly tolerable) but even in the severest Writings, yet every Man of common Sense is so convinced of the Absurdity of prostituting it to the Abuse of Words, that I shall dwell no longer upon so disagreeable, so contemptible a Subject. I would only observe, that the Ancients are but little guiltyof this Fault: That ofTerence[204],Inceptio est amentium, haud amantium; and ofCicero, cited byJuvenal,
[205]O fortunatam, natam, me consule, Romam.Fortune fortun'd the happy Day ofRome,When thou a Consul sole consol'd her Doom.Dryden.
[205]O fortunatam, natam, me consule, Romam.
Fortune fortun'd the happy Day ofRome,When thou a Consul sole consol'd her Doom.Dryden.
and some others, tho' they consist of a Gingle, which I could wish such excellent Writers had wholly abstain'd from, yet they are notequivocalExpressions, nor do they contain a double Sense.Ovid's
[206]Injustaque justa peregit,And solemniz'd the Death himself had wrought.Addison.
[206]Injustaque justa peregit,
And solemniz'd the Death himself had wrought.Addison.
I know not how to find an Excuse for. And it must be own'd, thatPlautusoften runs into these Puerilities; for which Reason, it is probable, he falls under the Censure ofHorace:
[207]At proavi nostri Plautinos & numeros &Laudavere sales; nimium patienter utrumque,(Ne dicam stulte) mirati.'Tis true, as I have heard, the former TimesClaptPlautus' Jokes, and his uneven Rhimes.Creech.
[207]At proavi nostri Plautinos & numeros &Laudavere sales; nimium patienter utrumque,(Ne dicam stulte) mirati.
'Tis true, as I have heard, the former TimesClaptPlautus' Jokes, and his uneven Rhimes.Creech.
And it can't be denied butTerence, and some of the best Writers, have some little Touches of this Epidemical Distemper. There are few of these Conceits but aremerely equivocal, that is, vary as little in the Thought, as in the Expression; a sort of Collision, from whence, 'tis possible, some Sparks of Wit may sometimes, but very rarely, be struck out. Thus much I thought proper to lay before you, in Relationto theEleganceofThoughtin Poetry, both true and false.
I have little Occasion to enlarge distinctly upon theSublime, because many Things relating to it fell in with what I have before advanced. However, as this was one of the Topics I propos'd to treat of, it is necessary I should say somewhat to it, before I conclude this Dissertation. I cannot better explain to you the Nature of theSublime, and the Manner of its affecting us, than by giving you the Sense ofLonginus[208]upon it, not in a literal Version, but by representing the Substance of him in a few Words. Whence is it that Writers of this Class, in a divine Impetuosity seem regardless of Accuracy, and scorn to be confin'd within the vulgar Rules of Exactness? The Truth is, Nature has form'd Man of an inquisitive Genius, and plac'd him in the World to behold and admire the Wonders of it; not as an idle Spectator, but as one concern'd in its busiest Scenes, eager for Action, and panting after Glory. To this End, he is strongly actuated by a Love and Desire of every Thing that is great and divine. The vast Expanse of the Universe cannot bound his Imagination; he extends his Thoughts into other Worlds, and is lost only in Infinity.
[209]—Vivida vis animi pervincit, & extraProcedit longe flammantia mœnia mundi.His vigorous and active Mind is hurl'dBeyond the seeming Limits of the World.Creech.
[209]—Vivida vis animi pervincit, & extraProcedit longe flammantia mœnia mundi.
His vigorous and active Mind is hurl'dBeyond the seeming Limits of the World.Creech.
And, in Truth, if we contemplate a Hero, whose Life is one continu'd Series of great Actions, we then may make some Estimate of what we were born to. Hence, then, it is, that Fountains and Rivulets, which answer all the common Conveniencies of Life, never in a great Degree awaken our Attention.But when we view theRhine, theNile, theDanube, but, above all, the Ocean, we stand fix'd at once with Awe and Wonder. So again, without any Emotion, we behold the daily Fires, of our own making, how long soever they continue burning: But we gaze with Astonishment at any sudden Light in the Heavens, tho' it vanishes, perhaps, as soon as it appears. Nor is there any Thing more wonderful in Nature than the Eruptions of MountÆtna, which sometimes discharges from its Caverns Stones, and Deluges of Fire:
[210]—Horrificis juxta tonat Ætna ruinis:Interdumque atram prorumpit ad æthera nubem,Turbine fumantem piceo, & candente favilla,Attollitque globos flammarum, & sidera lambit.Interdum scopulos, avulsaque viscera montis,Erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub aurasCum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exæstuat imo.ButÆtnathunders nighIn dreadful Ruins. With a Whirlwind's ForceSometimes it throws to Heav'n a pitchy Cloud,Redden'd with Cinders, and involv'd in Smoke;And tosses Balls of Flame, and licks the Stars.Sometimes with loud Explosion high it hurlsVast Rocks, and Entrails from the Mountain torn,With roaring Noise slings molten Stones in Air,And boils, and bellows, from its lowest Caves.
[210]—Horrificis juxta tonat Ætna ruinis:Interdumque atram prorumpit ad æthera nubem,Turbine fumantem piceo, & candente favilla,Attollitque globos flammarum, & sidera lambit.Interdum scopulos, avulsaque viscera montis,Erigit eructans, liquefactaque saxa sub aurasCum gemitu glomerat, fundoque exæstuat imo.
ButÆtnathunders nighIn dreadful Ruins. With a Whirlwind's ForceSometimes it throws to Heav'n a pitchy Cloud,Redden'd with Cinders, and involv'd in Smoke;And tosses Balls of Flame, and licks the Stars.Sometimes with loud Explosion high it hurlsVast Rocks, and Entrails from the Mountain torn,With roaring Noise slings molten Stones in Air,And boils, and bellows, from its lowest Caves.
Upon the whole, we may draw this Conclusion, that Things of common Use or Necessity, lose all their Wonder, by their Frequency; but whatever is unusual, and beyond the Course of Nature, strikes our Attention, and calls forth our Admiration.
I before observ'd, and therefore need not insist upon it farther here, that the opposite toSublimeisBombastandFustian. I observ'd likewise, that theSublimewas not incompatible with theplainStyle, tho' chiefly adapted to theHeroic, and produc'd Examples of both; for what I said in Relation to Style, I told you, in the Beginning of this Dissertation, wassometimesapplicable to Thought. I would now add, that 'tis a great Mistake to think that theSublimeis only, or chiefly suited to Joy, Triumphs, and pompous Descriptions; for nothing has more of that Quality than those Ideas that commandPityandTerror. I shall produce one, but a very remarkable Instance of each, taken almost from the same Place.Turnus, when his Forces were defeated, and his own Death approaching, dissuades his SisterJuturnafrom any farther fruitless Offices of her Love, in this Heroical Complaint:
[211]——Sed quis olympo.Demissam tantos voluit te ferre labores?An fratris miseri letum ut crudele videres?Nam quid ago? aut quæ nunc spondet fortuna salutem?Vidi oculos ante ipse meos me voce vocantemMurranum, quo non superat mihi charior alter,Oppetere ingentem, atque ingenti vulnere victum.Occidit infelix, ne nostrum dedecus UfensAspiceret: Teucri potiuntur corpore, & armis.Exscindine domos (id rebus defuit unum)Perpetiar? dextra nec Drancis dicta refellam?Terga dabo? & Turnum fugientem hæc terra videbit?Usque adeone mori miserum est? Vos ô mihi, Manes,Este boni; quoniam Superis aversa voluntas.Sancta ad vos anima, atque istius inscia culpæDescendam, magnorum haud unquam indignus avorum.But who sent you downDispatch'd from Heav'n, and will'd you to endureSuch Labours? Was it that you might beholdYour most unhappy Brother's cruel Death?For now what Measures can I take? What HopeOf new Success can any Fortune shew?Before these Eyes myselfMurranussaw(Than whom to me no dearer Name survives)Calling on me for Help, I saw him fallMighty, and with a mighty Wound subdu'd.ThereUfensfell, unfortunate, nor liv'dTo see our Shame: TheTrojanVictors keepThe full Possession of his Corps and Arms.Shall I endure (that only now remains)The City to be raz'd? Nor with my SwordRefel the Taunts ofDrances? Shall I shewMy Back? And shall this Earth seeTurnusfly?Is Death so terrible? Ye Gods of Hell,Be kind; since those of Heav'n abhor my Pray'r.To you a guiltless Ghost I will descend,Unsully'd with this Stain, nor ever prov'dUnworthy of my great Forefather's Fame.
[211]——Sed quis olympo.Demissam tantos voluit te ferre labores?An fratris miseri letum ut crudele videres?Nam quid ago? aut quæ nunc spondet fortuna salutem?Vidi oculos ante ipse meos me voce vocantemMurranum, quo non superat mihi charior alter,Oppetere ingentem, atque ingenti vulnere victum.Occidit infelix, ne nostrum dedecus UfensAspiceret: Teucri potiuntur corpore, & armis.Exscindine domos (id rebus defuit unum)Perpetiar? dextra nec Drancis dicta refellam?Terga dabo? & Turnum fugientem hæc terra videbit?Usque adeone mori miserum est? Vos ô mihi, Manes,Este boni; quoniam Superis aversa voluntas.Sancta ad vos anima, atque istius inscia culpæDescendam, magnorum haud unquam indignus avorum.
But who sent you downDispatch'd from Heav'n, and will'd you to endureSuch Labours? Was it that you might beholdYour most unhappy Brother's cruel Death?For now what Measures can I take? What HopeOf new Success can any Fortune shew?Before these Eyes myselfMurranussaw(Than whom to me no dearer Name survives)Calling on me for Help, I saw him fallMighty, and with a mighty Wound subdu'd.ThereUfensfell, unfortunate, nor liv'dTo see our Shame: TheTrojanVictors keepThe full Possession of his Corps and Arms.Shall I endure (that only now remains)The City to be raz'd? Nor with my SwordRefel the Taunts ofDrances? Shall I shewMy Back? And shall this Earth seeTurnusfly?Is Death so terrible? Ye Gods of Hell,Be kind; since those of Heav'n abhor my Pray'r.To you a guiltless Ghost I will descend,Unsully'd with this Stain, nor ever prov'dUnworthy of my great Forefather's Fame.
It is impossible not to be wrapt into an Extasy, as it were, of Pity and Wonder, to behold so majestic Sorrow, and such exalted Misery. Nor less sublime is that Terror, with which the Fury possesses the Breast of the same unhappy Hero, when she is sent byJupiterto carry the fatal Omen:
[212]Postquam acies videt Iliacas, atque agmina Turni,Alitis in parvæ subito collecta figuram,Quæ quondam in bustis, aut culminibus desertis,Nocte sedens, serum canit importuna per umbras;Hanc versa in faciem Turni se Pestis ad oraFertque, refertque sonans, clypeumque everberat alis.Soon as theTrojanTroops, andTurnus' BandsShe sees; she changes, lessen'd, to the ShapeOf a small Bird, which sitting on the TopsOf Tombs, and old deserted Tow'rs, by Night,Shrieks thro' the Shades, ill-omen'd: Thus transform'dThe Fiend o'erTurnus' Visage, screaming, fliesThis Way, and that; and flaps upon his ShieldWith flutt'ring Pinions.
[212]Postquam acies videt Iliacas, atque agmina Turni,Alitis in parvæ subito collecta figuram,Quæ quondam in bustis, aut culminibus desertis,Nocte sedens, serum canit importuna per umbras;Hanc versa in faciem Turni se Pestis ad oraFertque, refertque sonans, clypeumque everberat alis.
Soon as theTrojanTroops, andTurnus' BandsShe sees; she changes, lessen'd, to the ShapeOf a small Bird, which sitting on the TopsOf Tombs, and old deserted Tow'rs, by Night,Shrieks thro' the Shades, ill-omen'd: Thus transform'dThe Fiend o'erTurnus' Visage, screaming, fliesThis Way, and that; and flaps upon his ShieldWith flutt'ring Pinions.
I appeal to every Reader, whether at these Lines his Blood does not run cold within him, whether he does not feel the same dismal Effects thatTurnusdid:
[213]Illi membra novus solvit formidine torpor;Arrectæque horrore comæ, & vox faucibus hæsit.Him unusual FearStiff'ning benumbs; uprose his Hair erect,And to his Mouth his Speech with Horror cleav'd.
[213]Illi membra novus solvit formidine torpor;Arrectæque horrore comæ, & vox faucibus hæsit.
Him unusual FearStiff'ning benumbs; uprose his Hair erect,And to his Mouth his Speech with Horror cleav'd.
When I first engag'd in this new Province, I thought to have treated largely, and in a set Dissertation, onpoetic Licence. But I now think that Design superfluous, having spoke so largely of it, when I treated of theDictionandThoughtof Poetry, and of theEleganceandSublimityof each. I then observ'd, that tho' Poets have a Method of Writing peculiar to themselves, and are allow'd many Liberties in it, from which other Writers are debarr'd; yet that they are indulg'd in nothing but what is built upon the Foundation of Truth, and solid Reason: Agreeably to that ofHorace,
[214]——Pictoribus, atque Poetis,Quidlibet audendi semper fuit æqua potestas.Scimus, & hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim:Sed non ut placidis cocant immitia, non utSerpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni.Painters and Poets have been still allow'dTheir Pencils and their Fancies unconfin'd.This Privilege we freely give and take:But Nature, and the common Laws of Sense,Forbid to reconcile Antipathies,Or make a Snake engender with a Dove,And hungry Tygers court the tender Lambs.Roscom.
[214]——Pictoribus, atque Poetis,Quidlibet audendi semper fuit æqua potestas.Scimus, & hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim:Sed non ut placidis cocant immitia, non utSerpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni.
Painters and Poets have been still allow'dTheir Pencils and their Fancies unconfin'd.This Privilege we freely give and take:But Nature, and the common Laws of Sense,Forbid to reconcile Antipathies,Or make a Snake engender with a Dove,And hungry Tygers court the tender Lambs.Roscom.
Nothing now remains, but to entreat you Gentlemen, that make up my Audience, candidly to accept these mean Attempts of mine upon sodifficulta Subject.
Designing to treat of the several Species of Poetry, I thought proper to begin with the lowest, and so gradually proceed to others of a higher Kind, till at last I come to the Epic or Heroic Poem.
Epigram shall be the chief Subject of this Discourse. But as there are other small Poems, which will scarce deserve a distinct one, I shall here make such Observations upon them as may be necessary.
The Account we have of Epigram, both of the Name and Thing, is this: It was usual, it seems, among the Ancients, to cut short Inscriptions under the Statues of their Gods, which they call'd επιγραφαι, and επιγραμματα. These Inscriptions serv'd asLemmata, or Subjects for little poetical Conceits, which were afterwards themselves term'd Epigrams. That upon the Statue ofVenusmade byPraxiteles, is well known.
Γυμνην οιδε Παριϛ με, και Αγκισηϛ, και Αδονιϛ.Τουϛ τρρειϛ οιδα μονουϛ, Πραξιτελεϛ δε ποθεν?And what, said she, does this bold Painter mean?When was I bathing thus, and naked seen?Prior.
Γυμνην οιδε Παριϛ με, και Αγκισηϛ, και Αδονιϛ.Τουϛ τρρειϛ οιδα μονουϛ, Πραξιτελεϛ δε ποθεν?
And what, said she, does this bold Painter mean?When was I bathing thus, and naked seen?Prior.
In Course of Time, other Poems of like Nature, whatever their Subject was, went by the Name of Epigrams, on account of their Affinity with those to which that Title was first appropriated.
Epigrams are divided into various Heads; the greater, the less, the equal[215], the simple, the compound, the digressive,&c.But so minute a Distinction is needless, since they may be made upon any Subject. Some are satirical, as that ofMartial,
[216]Quem recitas meus est, O Fidentine, Libellus;Sed male cum recitas, incipit esse tuus.'Tis true, in Print I own my humble Muse;But when the Laureat shall my Lines traduce,TartuffeinEnglandjustly I disown;The Food was mine, the Excrement's his own.
[216]Quem recitas meus est, O Fidentine, Libellus;Sed male cum recitas, incipit esse tuus.
'Tis true, in Print I own my humble Muse;But when the Laureat shall my Lines traduce,TartuffeinEnglandjustly I disown;The Food was mine, the Excrement's his own.
and in another Place:
[217]Quid Te, Tucca, juvat vetulo miscere FalernoIn Vaticanis condita musta cadis?Quid tantum fecere boni tibi pessima vina?Aut quid fecerunt optima vina mali?De nobis facile est; scelus est jugulare Falernum,Et dare Campano toxica sæva mero.Convivæ meruere tui fortasse perire;Amphora non meruit tam pretiosa mori.What mean'st thou,Tucca, with Tocay to joinThe vapid Refuse of dull Rhenish Wine?Do you the cordial Juice such Treach'ry owe,Prepost'rous Charity the Cut-throat show?To spoil Tocay, however fare your Guest,Is Murder, without Benefit of Priest.Poison allow the Merit of your Friend;But the poor Cask deserv'd a better End.
[217]Quid Te, Tucca, juvat vetulo miscere FalernoIn Vaticanis condita musta cadis?Quid tantum fecere boni tibi pessima vina?Aut quid fecerunt optima vina mali?De nobis facile est; scelus est jugulare Falernum,Et dare Campano toxica sæva mero.Convivæ meruere tui fortasse perire;Amphora non meruit tam pretiosa mori.
What mean'st thou,Tucca, with Tocay to joinThe vapid Refuse of dull Rhenish Wine?Do you the cordial Juice such Treach'ry owe,Prepost'rous Charity the Cut-throat show?To spoil Tocay, however fare your Guest,Is Murder, without Benefit of Priest.Poison allow the Merit of your Friend;But the poor Cask deserv'd a better End.
This, I should think, is the best kind of Epigram; for if the Nature of it in general consists in being acute, whatever is satirical, must always be so. Notbut that there are other proper Subjects of it. Some panegyrical, directly contrary to the former; many of which we have inMartialupon the EmperorDomitian, and in others. That ofVirgilis famous.