Nay, I have often seen her rise up and smile, and curtsie 6. to one at the lower End of the Church in the midst of ⚫ Gloria Patri; and when I have spoke the Affent to a Prayer with a long Amen uttered with decent Gravity, • she has been rolling her Eyes round about in fuch a Manner, as plainly fhewed however fhe was moved, it was not towards an heavenly Object. In fine, the "extended her Conquefts fo far over the Males, and raised 'fuch Envy in the Females, that what between Love of thofe, and the Jealousy of thefe, I was almoft the only • Perfon that looked in a Prayer-book all Church-time. • I had several Projects in my Head to put a Stop to this ⚫ growing Mischief; but as I have long lived in Kent, and there often heard how the Kentish Men evaded the Conqueror, by carrying green Boughs over their Heads, · it put me in mind of practifing this Device against Mrs. Simper. I find I have preferved many a young Man ' from her Eye-fhot by this Means; therefore humbly pray the Boughs may be fixed, till fhe shall give Security for her peaceable Intentions. Your bumble Servant, T Francis Sternhold. No. 285. Saturday, January 26. 鍋燒 Ne quicunque Deus, quicunque adhibebitur heros, Aut dum vitat humum, nubes & inania captet. Hor. H AVING already treated of the Fable, the Characters, and Sentiments in the Paradife Loft, we are in the laft Place to confider the Language; and as the learned World is very much divided upon Milton as to this Point, I hope they will excufe me if I appear particular in any of my Opinions, and incline to thofe who judge the molt advantagioufly of the Author. IT is requifite that the Language of an Heroick Poem fhould be both Perfpicuous and Sublime. In proportion as either of these two Qualities are wanting, the Language is imperfect. Perfpicuity is the first and most neceffary Qualification; infomuch that a good-natur'd Reader fometimes overlooks a little Slip even in the Grammar or Syntax, where it is impoffible for him to mistake the Foet's Senfe. Of this Kind is that Paffage in Milton, wherein he fpeaks of Satan. God and his Son except, Created thing nought valu'd be nor foun'd. And that in which he defcribes Adam and Eve. Adam the goodlieft Man of Men fince born Ir is plain, that in the former of thefe Paffages, according to the natural Syntax, the Divine Perfons mentioned in the first Line are represented as created Beings; and that in the other, Adam and Eve are confounded with their Sons and Daughters. Such little Blemishes as these, when the Thought is great and natural, we should, with Horace, impute to a pardonable Inadvertency, or to the Weakness of human Nature, which cannot attend to each minute Particular, and give the laft Finishing to every Circumstance in fo long a Work. The ancient Criticks therefore, who were acted by a Spirit of Candour, rather than that of Cavilling, invented certain Figures of Speech, on purpose to palliate little Errors of this Nature in the Writings of thofe Authors, who had so many greater Beauties to attone for them. IF Clearness and Perfpicuity were only to be confulted, the Poet would have nothing elfe to do but to cloath his Thoughts in the most plain and natural Expreffions. But fince it often happens that the most obvious Phrases, and those which are used in ordinary Converfation, be-, come too familiar to the Ear,and contract a kind of Meannefs by paffing through the Mouths of the Vulgar, a Poet fhould take particular Care to guard himself against Idiomatick Ways of Speaking. Ovid and Lucan have many Poorneffes of Expreffion upon this Account, as taking up with the firft Phrases that offered, without putting them themselves to the Trouble of looking after fuch as would not only have been natural, but also elevated and fublime. Milton has but few Failings in this Kind, of which, however, you may meet with fome Inftances, as in the following Paffages. Embrio's and Idiots, Eremites and Fryars, White, Black and Gray, with all their Trumpery, A while Difcourfe they hold, No Fear left Dinner cool; when thus began Who of all Ages to fucceed, but feeling The Great Mafters in Compofition know very well that many an elegant Phrafe becomes improper for a Poet or an Orator, when it has been debased by commen Ufe. For this Reafon the Works of ancient Authors, which are written in dead Languages, have a great Advantage over those which are written in Languages that are now spoken. Were there any mean Phrafes or Idioms in Virgil and Homer, they would not fhock the Ear of the moft delicate Modern Reader, fo much as they would have done that of an old Greek or Roman, because we never hear them pronounced in our Streets, or in ordinary Conversation.. IT is not therefore fufficient that the language of an Epic Poem be perfpicuous, unless it be alfo fublime. To this end it ought to deviate from the common Forms and ordinary Phrafes of Speech. The Judgment of a Poet very much discovers itself in fhunning the common Roads of Expreffion, without falling into fuch ways of Speech as may feem. ftiff and unnatural; he muft not fwell into a falfeSublime,by endeavouring to avoid the otherExtreme. Among the Greeks, Efchylus, and fometimes Sophocles, were guilty of this Fault; among the Latins, Claudian and Statius; and among our own Countrymen, Shakespear and Lee. In thefe Authors the Affectation of Greatness often hurts the Perfpicuity of the Style, as in many others the Endeavour after Perfpicuity prejudices its Greatnefs. ARISTOTLE has obferved, that the Idiomatick Style may be avoided, and the Sublime formed by the following Methods. Firft, by the Ufe of Metaphors, like thofe in Milton. Imparadifed in one another's Arms. Stood waving tipt with Fire ;. IN these and innumerable other Inftances, the Metaphors are very bold but juft; I must however obferve that the Metaphors are not thick fown in Milton, which always favours too much of Wit; that they never clash with one another, which, as Ariftotle obferves, turns a Sentence into a Kind of Enigma or Riddle; and that he feldom makes use of them where the proper and natural Words will do as well. ANOTHER way of raifing the Language, and giving it a poetical Turn, is to make ufe of the Idioms of other Tongues. Virgil is full of the Greek Forms of Speech, which the Criticks call Hellenisms, as Horace in his Odes abounds with them much more than Virgil. I need not mention the feveral Dialects which Homer has made use of for this End. Milton, in conformity with the Practice of the ancient Poets, and with Ariftotle's Rule, has infused a great many Latinifms as well as Græcifms, and fometimes Hebraifms, into the Language of his Poem; as to wards the Beginning of it. Nor did they not perceive the evil Plight In which they were, or the fierce Pains not feel. The dark unbottom'd Infinite Abyss, And through the Falpable Obfcure find out Over the vaft Abrupt! So both afcend In the Vifions of God B. 117 UNDER UNDER this Head may be reckon'd the placing the Adjective after the Subftantive, the Tranfpofition of Words, the turning the Adjective into a Substantive, with feveral other Foreign Modes of Speech, which this Poet has naturalized to give his Verfe the greater Sound, and throw it out of Profe. THE third Method mentioned by Ariftotle, is what agrees with the Genius of the Greek Language more than with that of any other Tongue, and is therefore more ufed by Homer than by any other Poet. I mean the lengthning of a Phrafe by the Addition of Words, which may either be inferted or omitted, as alfo by the extending or contracting of particular Words by the Infertion or Omiffion of certain Syllables. Milton has put in practice this Method of raifing his Language, as far as the Nature of our Tongue will permit, as in the Paffage above mentioned, Eremite, for what is Hermite, in common Difcourfe. If you obferve the Measure of his Verfe, he has with great Judgment fuppreffed a Syllable in several Words, and fhortned thofe of two Syllables into one, by which Method, befides the above-mentioned Advantage, he has given a greater Variety to his Numbers. But this Practice is more particularly remarkable in the Names of Perfons and of Countries, as Beelzebub, Hessebon, and in many other Particulars, wherein he has either changed the Name, or made ufe of that which is not the most commonly known, that he might the better deviate from the Language of the Vulgar. THE fame Reafon recommended to him feveral old Words, which alfo makes his Poem appear the more venerable, and gives it a greater Air of Antiquity. I muft likewife take notice, that there are in Milton feveral Words of his own Coining, as Cerberean, mifcreated, Hell-doom'd, Embrion Atoms, and many others. It the Reader is offended at this Liberty in our English Poet, I would recommend him to a Difcourfe in Plutarch, which fhews us how frequently Homer has made ufe of the fame Liberty. MILTON, by the above-mentioned Helps, and by the Choice of the nobleft Words and Phrafes which our Tongue would afford him, has carried our Language to a greater Height than any of the English Poets have ever done |