to fome fuch paffages as the following, where Doctor Johnfon in the character of critic and biographer is pronouncing upon the poet Congreve. "His fcenes exhibit not much of hu"mour, imagery or paffion: his perfonages are " a kind of intellectual gladiators; every fen"tence is to ward or ftrike; the conteft of "smartness is never intermitted; his wit is a "meteor playing to and fro with alternate co"rufcations." If he can learn to embroider with as much spendor, tafte and address as this and many other famples from the fame master exhibit, he cannot study in a better school.

On the contrary, if fimplicity be his object, and a certain ferenity of ftile, which feems in unifon with the foul, he may open the Spectators and take from the first paper of Mr. Addison the first paragraph, that meets his eye the following for inftance" There is nothing that makes "its way more directly to the foul than Beauty, "which immediately diffufes a fecret fatisfac

tion and complacency through the imaginaz ❝tion, and gives a finishing to any thing that "is great or uncommon: the very first dif covery of it ftrikes the mind with an in"ward joy, and spreads a chearfulness and delight through all its faculties." Or again

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in the fame effay. "We no where meet with

a more glorious or pleafing fhow in nature "than what appears in the heavens at the rifing "and fetting of the fun, which is wholly made up of those different ftains of light, that fhow "themselves in elouds of a different fituation." A florid writer would hardly have refifted the opportunities, which here court the imagination to indulge its flights, whereas few writers of any fort would have been tempted on a topic merely critical to have employed fuch figurative and spendid diction, as that of Doctor Johnson; thefe little famples therefore, though felected with little or no care, but taken as they came to hand, may ferve to exemplify my meaning, and in fome degree characterize the different ftiles of the respective writers,

Now as every ftudent, who is capable of copying either of these ftiles, or even of comparing them, muft difcern on which fide the greater danger of mifcarrying lies, as well as the greater difgrace in case of such miscarriage, prudence will direct him in his outfet not to hazard the attempt at a florid diction. If his ear hath not been vitiated by vulgar habitudes, he will only have to guard against mean expreffions, whilst he is ftudying to be fimple and perfpicu

ous;

ous; he will put his thoughts into language naturally as they present themselves, giving them for the prefent little more than mere grammatical correction; afterwards, upon a clofer review, he will polifh thofe parts that feem rude, harmonize them where they are unequal, compress what is too diffufive, raife what is low, and attune the whole to that general cadence, which feems moft grateful to his ear.

But if our student hath been smitten with the turbulent oratory of the fenate, the acrimonious declamation of the bar, or the pompous eloquence of the pulpit, and fhall take the lofty fpeakers in these feveral orders for his models, rather than fuch as addrefs the ear in humbler tones, his paffions will in that cafe hurry him into the florid and figurative stile, to a sublime and fwelling period; and if in this he excels, it auft be owned he accomplishes a great and arduous task, and he will gain a liberal share of applaufe from the world, which in general is apt to be captivated with thofe high and towering inages, that ftrike and furprize the fenfes. In this ftile the Hebrew prophets write, "whofe "difcourfe" (to ufe the words of the learned. Dolor Bentley)" after the genius of the Eastern

nations, is thick fet with metaphor and alle

"gory;

gory; the fame bold comparisons and dithy"rambic liberty of ftile every where occurring "For when the Spirit of God came upon them,

and breathed a new warmth and vigour

"through all the powers of the body and foul; "when by the influx of divine light the whole "fcene of Chrift's heavenly kingdom was re"presented to their view, fo that their hearts "were ravished with joy, and their imagina❝tions turgid and pregnant with the glorious "ideas; then surely, if ever, their stile would "be ftrong and lofty, full of allufions to all that ❝is great and magnificent in the kingdoms of "this world." (Commencement Sermon.) And these flights of imagination, these effufions of rapture and fublimity will occafionally be found in the pulpit eloquence of fome of our most correct and temperate writers; witness that brilliant apoftrophe at the conclufion of the ninth difcourfe of Bishop Sherlock, than whom few or none have written with more didactic brevity and fimplicity" Go," (fays he to the Deifts) ર go to your natural religion: Lay before her << Mahomet and his difciples arrayed in armour "and in blood, riding in triumph over the spoils "of thousands and tens of thousands, who fell "by his victorious sword: Shew her the cities, VOL. V. <<< which

G

"which he fet in flames, the countries which "he ravaged and deftroyed, and the miferable "diftrefs of all the inhabitants of the earth "When she has viewed him in this scene, carry "her into his retirements; fhew her the pro→ "phet's chamber, his concubines and wives;, "let her fee his adultery, and hear him alledge "revelation and his divine commiffion to justify "his luft and oppreffion. When she is tired "with this profpect, then fhew her the blessed "Jefus, humble and meek, doing good to all "the fons of men, patiently inftructing both the "ignorant and perverfe; let her fee him in his "most retired privacies; let her follow him to "the mount, and hear his devotions and fuppli❝cations to God; carry her to his table to view "his poor fare, and hear his heavenly difcourse : "Let her fee him injured but not provoked; "let her attend him to the tribunal, and confi"der the patience, with which he endured the "fcoffs and reproaches of his enemies: Lead "her to his cross, and let her view him in the "agony of death, and hear his last prayer for his. "perfecutors-Father, forgive them, for they know. "not what they do."

This is a lofty paffage in the high imperative tone of declamation; it is richly coloured, boldly contrafted

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