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

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The next step in the progrefs, of poetry from the praise of God is to the praife of men: Illuftrious characters, heroic actions are fingled out for celebration; the inventors of ufeful arts, the reformers of fayage countries, the benefactors of mankind are extolled in verfe, they are raised to the fkies, and the poet, having praised them as the firft of men, whilft on earth, deifies them after death, and, confcious that they merit immortality, boldly beftows it, and affigns to them a rank and office in heaven appropriate to the character

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 worship. Thefe are the fanciful effects of poetry in its second ftage Religion over-heated turns into enthusiasm; enthufiafm forces the imagination into all the vifionary regions of fable, and idolatry takes poffeffion of the whole Gentile world. The Egyptians, a mysterious 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, embellish them with all the glittering ornaments of poetry, and fpread 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 shakes Mount Ida to dignify his description; Neptune attends him in his car, if he would allay the ocean; if he would let loofe 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 fcatter peftilence through the air; Mercury flies upon the mesfages of Jupiter; Juno raves with jealousy and Venus leads the Loves and Graces in her train. In this class we contemplate Homer and his inferior brethren of the epic order; it is their province 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, rouse 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 perfon before us: He no longer appears as a blind and wandering bard chaunting. his rhapsodies to a throng of villagers collected in a group about him, but erects a splendid theatre, gathers together a whole city as his audience, prepares a ftriking fpectacle, provides a chorus of actors, brings mufic, dance and dress to his aid, realizes the thunder, burfts open the tombs of the dead, calls forth their apparitions,

defcends

defcends to the very regions of the damned and drags the Furies from their flames to present themselves perfonally to the terrified spectators: 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, Alcæus, Pindar, Calliftratus; fublime, abrupt, impetuous they strike us with the shock of their electric genius; they dart from earth to heaven; there is no following them in their flights; we ftand gazing with furprize, their boldness awes us, their brevity confounds us; their fudden tranfitions and ellipfes escape our apprehenfion; we are charmed we know not why, we are pleased 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 class we have the venerable names of a Solon, a Tyrtaus and those, 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 its energy and fpring: Is Salamis to be recovered? It is the elegy of Solon must found the march to it's attack. Are the Lacedæmonians to be awakened from their lethargy? It is Tyrteus, who must fing the war-song and revive their languid courage.

Poetry next appears in its paftoral character; it affects the garb of fhepherds and the language of the ruftic: It reprefents to our view the rural Jandscape and the peaceful cottage; it records the labours, the amufements, the loves of the village nymphs and fwains, and exhibits nature in its fimpleft state: It is no longer the harp or the lyre, but the pipe of the poet, which now invites our attention: Theocritus, leaning on his crook in his ruffet mantle and clouted brogues, ap pears more perfectly in character than the court ly Maro, who feems more the fhepherd of the theatre than of the field. I have yet one other clafs in reserve for the epigrammatift, but I will fhut up my lift without him, not being willing that poetry, which commences with a prayer, fhould conclude with a pun.

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