lefs agreeable to God's providence, to fuppofe that even in the darkest times fome minds of a more enlightened fort should break forth, and be engaged in the contemplation of the univerfe and it's author: From meditating upon the works of the Creator, the tranfition to the act of praise and adoration follows as it were of courfe: These are operations of the mind, which naturally infpire it with a certain portion of rapture and enthusiasm, rushing upon the lips in warm and glowing language, and difdaining to be expreffed in ordinary and vulgar phrafe; the thoughts become inflated, the breaft labours with a paffionate defire to fay fomething worthy of the ear of Heaven, fomething in a more elevated tone and cadence, fomething more harmonious and mu-fical; this can only be effected by measured periods, by fome chaunt, that can be repeated in the ftrain again and again, grateful at once to the ear and impreffive on the memory; and what is this but poetry? Poetry then is the language of prayer, an address becoming of the Deity; it may be remembered; it may be repeated in the ears of the people called together for the purposes of

worship;

worship; this is a form that may be fixt upon their minds, and in this they may be taught to join.

The next step in the progrefs of poetry from the praise of God is to the praise of men: Illustrious characters, heroic actions are fingled out for celebration; the inventors of useful arts, the reformers of savage countries, the benefactors of mankind, are extolled in verse, they are raised to the skies, and the poet, having praised them as the firft of men, whilst on earth, deifies them after death, and, conscious that they merit immortality, boldly beftows it, and affigns to them a rank and office in heaven. appropriate to the character they maintained. in life; hence it is that the merits of a Bacchus, a Hercules, and numbers more are amplified by the poet, till they become the attributes of their divinity, altars are raised and victims immolated to their worthip. These are the fanciful effects of poetry in its fecond stage: Religion over-heated turns into enthufiafin; enthufiafm forces the imagination into all the vifionary regions of fable, and idolatry takes poffeffion of the whole Gentile world. The Egyptians, a myfterious.

myfterious dogmatizing race, begin the work with fymbol and hieroglyphic; the Greeks, a vain ingenious people, invent a fet of tales and fables for what they do not understand, embellifh them with all the glittering ornaments of poetry, and spread the captivating delufion over all the world.

In the fucceeding period we review the poet in full poffeffion of this brilliant machinery, and with all Olympus at his command: Surrounded by Apollo and the mufes, he commences every poem with an addrefs to them for protection: He has a deity at his call for every operation of nature; if he would roll the thunder, Jupiter fhakes Mount Ida to dignify his defcription; Neptune attends him in his car, if he would allay the ocean; if he would let loose the winds to raise it Æolus unbars his cave; the fpear of Mars and the ægis of Minerva arm him for the battle; the arrows of Apollo scatter peftilence through the air; Mercury flies upon the meffages of Jupiter; Juno raves with jealoufy, and Venus leads the Loves and Graces in her train. In this clafs we contemplate Homer and his inferior brethren of the epic order; it is their pro

vince to form the warrior, inftruct the politician, animate the patriot; they delineate the characters and manners; they charm us with their defcriptions, furprize us with their incidents, intereft us with their dialogue; they engage every paffion in its turn, melt us to pity, roufe us to glory, ftrike us with terror, fire us with indignation; in a word they prepare us for the drama, and the drama for us.

A new poet now comes upon the stage; he ftands in person before us: He no longer appears as a blind and wandering bard, chaunting his rhapfodies to a throng of villagers collected in a group about him, but erects a fplendid theatre, gathers together a whole city as his audience, prepares a ftriking fpectacle, provides a chorus of actors, brings mufic, dance and drefs to his aid, realizes the thunder, burfts open the tombs of the dead, calls forth their apparitions, descends to the very regions of the damned, and drags the Furies from their flames to prefent themselves perfonally to the terrified fpectators: Such are the powers of the drama; here the poet reigns and triumphs in his highest glory.

The fifth denomination gives us the lyric poet chaunting his ode at the public games and feftivals, crowned with olive and encompaffed by all the wits and nobles of his age. and country: Here we contemplate Stefichorus, Alcaus, Pindar, Calliftratus; fublime, abrupt, impetuous, they ftrike us with the fhock of their electric genius; they dart from earth to heaven; there is no following them in their flights; we stand gazing with furprize, their boldness awes us, their brevity confounds us; their sudden tranfitions and ellipfes escape our apprehenfion; we are charmed we know not why, we are pleafed with being puzzled, and applaud: although we cannot comprehend. In the lighter lyric we meet Anacreon, Sappho, and the votaries of Bacchus and Venus; in the grave, didactic, folemn clafs we have the venerable names of a Solon, a Tyrtaus, and thofe, who may be ftiled the demagogues in poetry: Is liberty to be afferted, licentioufnefs to be repreffed? Is the spirit of a nation to be roufed? It is the poet not the orator must give the foul it's energy and fpring Is Salamis to be recovered? It is the elegy of Solon muft found the march to