346

Sheds Tears at the fight of those he had involved in Mifery ib.
His Reflections on the light of Adam and Eve ibid.
His address to the Sun, Teason'd with Remorse and Self-
Accusation

340
The Character of the Messiah, his Power and Justice, tem-
pered with Love and Mercy

341
Terrible to his Enemies only

ibid.
Description of his Works of Creation

342
His Ascent into Heaven after the World was created 343
The Allegory of Sin and Death extremely poetical, but
not much to the advantage of his work

ibid.
The Sentiments admirably adapted to the Characters 344
Sublimity of Sentiments, Milton's chief Excellence ibid.
The Passion of Love in a state of Purity, beautifully re-

presented in the Characters of Adam and Eve.-- See their
Sentiments under the Chapters of the Beauty of Thought
and Style of Poetry

ibid.
Some Defects pointed out

345
The Language raised and supported with wonderfulArt ibid.
The Difficulties he had to encounter with respect to the
Diction

ibid.
The Method he took to enrich his Style and render his

Numbers various and harmonious
Some Defects in his Diction pointed out

347
Of the Spirits contracting their Stature, so as to find room
in the Pandæmonium

ibid;
The Dispute on that Subject stated

Of the Difficulty of writing a modern Epic Poem 349
Of_Tasso's Jerusalem delivered

ibid.
The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ib.
Of the Author and his Poem

352
Of the Characters

ibid.
Of the Sentiments

353
Instance of a crude Conception

ibid.
The Images he gives us of Armida, and her Behaviour
while Rinaldo hews down the Myrtle, is great

ibid.
Of the Language

354
Some Absurdities in the Characters and Conduct of the
Poem

ibid.
The amorous Song fung by Armida's Parrot

355
Of FENELON's Adventures of Telemachus

357
This Work poetical, tho' written in Prose

ibid.
That Prose ought to be consider'd in opposition to Verse,
and not in opposition to Poetry

ibid.
That Poetry does not wholly consist in the Number and

Cadence of Syllables, but in a spirited Fiction, bold
and noble Figures, and a Variety of beautiful and just
Images

348

If there is no Poetry without Verse, there can be rione in

the English Version of the Psalms of David, the Book of
Job, the Song of Solomon, or in any part of the Old
Teftament

ibid.
The beautiful Simplicity of Ferelen's Style has, perhaps,

degraded him in the eyes of the injudicious, tho' he
is admir'd for it by the best Judges

ibid.
Some Defects and Beauties pointed out

359
The Scheme of Minerva's assuming the form of Mentor,
taken from the History of Tobias

ibid.
Of Voltaire's Henriade

ibid.
The Portion of History on which this Poem is founded ibid.
The Characters agreeably diversified and well supported 363
The Thoughts, Style and Numbers elegant and graceful,
and often noble and sublime

ibid.
Some Defects in the Fable

ibid.
The Machinery extravagant

ibid.
The Hero's changing his Religion, absurd

364
His other Works admirable

ibid.
Of Mr. Glover's Leonidas

365
The Portion of Hisory on which this Poem is founded ib.
The Poem excellently calculated to inspire the Reader with

the Love of Liberty, public Virtue, and Patriotisi 369
Tho’theFable is taken from an ancient GrecianStory which

would have admitted of coelestial Machinery, the Author
has prudently avoided that kind of Ornament ibid.
The Heroes of Homer and Virgil lessen'd by their Ma-
chinery

ibid.
No judging which was the greatest Hero, Hector or Achiiles,
without estimating the Aid each received from the Deities

ibid,
The Abfurdity not removed, by giving those Passages an al-

378

Of the Character of Teribazus

ibid.

Leffen'd by the manner of his Death

377

'The Adventure of Ariane to the Grecian Camp

ibid.

Her Conference with Leonidas

Lamentation over the Body of Teribazus, and her Death 380

The Sentiments of the Poem are consistent with the Charac-

ters, always proper, and often noble and sublime

381

The Language is for the most part elegant, expressive, and

agreeably elevated

ibid.

The Numbers are in some places diffonant, and inharmo-

nious

ibid.

Reflections on Shakespeare

ibid.

His Volumes a Repository of true Wit, and of the sublimest

Beauties in Composition

ibid.

His Numbers as harmonious as those of any modern Poet ibid.

His Diction fo elegant and expressive, that he seems to

have been considered as a Standard, and to have fixed the

volatile Fluctuations of a living Language, to which the

frequent Representation of his Plays has not a little con-

tributed

ibid.

The Power he has over the Mind is not wholly owing to the

Force of his-Wit and Fancy; but to his having in greater

Proportion than other Men that Power of Feeling or Sen-

sibility resulting from Nature and accurate Observation,

which we call good Taste

ibid.

As he consulted Nature more than Books, his Thoughts are,

for the most part, new and noble, whereas other Drama-

tic Poets of his Time, by having ancient Authors too

much in View, lost the Spirit of Originality

An Apology for the Defects in Shakespeare

ibid.

The Character of a Book not to be estimated by the num-

ber of its Defects, but of its Beauties

ibid.

Reading compared to Conversation----He who frequents

Company to observe only absurd and vicious Characters
will obtain little Benefit ; but he who observes and imi-
tates the Polite, may become a Fine Gentleman ibid.

ERRA T A VOL. I.
Page 41, Line 7. dele We come now to. P. 49, 1. 12. for
tbat read which. P. 53, 1. 39. for Poctry r. Poetry. P. 84,
in the Note, for Tibia r. Tibi. P. 85, 1. 15. for where r. were,
P. 168, 1. 10. dele in. P. 174, 1. 12. for asimulated read
asembled. P. 175, 1. 13: for ever r. over.

Ibid. Line 37,

for white Aß, read wild Ash. P. 189, 1. 36. for Hair read

Hare. P.

2052

1. 10. for Paise read Praise. P. 2149

1.

19.

dele vinner. P. 216, l. 21. for male read meal. P. 250,

line the last, for barborous read barbarous.

ERRATA TO VOL. II.

Line for lays read lies. P. 96, 1. 2, of the Note,

for Operation read Oppresion. P. 204, 1. 16. for Wreck read

382

TO

Page 19

2.

INTRODUCTION.

I

F the sciences were to be estimated by their anti

quity, Poetry would undoubtedly bear the palm from all others, since it is, we may suppose, nearly as old as the Creation, and had its being almost with the first breath of mankind.

When · Adam came from the hands of his all-boun. tiful Creator, and found himself in the plains of Pao radise, amidst an infinite number of creatures, fo frarfully and wonderfully made *; when he saw every herb, plant, and flower rise up for his use and plcasure, and every creature submit to his will; when he heard the morning's dawn ushered in with the orisons of birds, and the evenings warbled down with notes of thanks and gratitude ; when all nature exulted in praise of the omnipotent Creator ; when the morning /lars fang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy t, could man, thus highly favoured of heaven, withold his tribute ? -No,

--when all things that breathe
From th' earth's great altar send up silent praise
To the Creator, and his nostrils fill
With grateful smell : forth came the human pair,

And join'd their vocal worship to the Choir
Of Creatures wanting voice.

both flood
Both turn'd, and under open sky ador'd
The God that made both sky, air, earth and heaven
Which they beheld, the moon's resplendent globe,

And starry pole :-Thou also madft the night,
Maker omnipotent, and thou the day! *

Poetry in its infant state was the language of devo.tion and love. It was the voice and expreffion of the heart of man when ravished and transported with a view of the numberless blessings that perpetually flowed from God the fountain of all goodness.

all things fmild With Fragrance, and wiib Joy their hearts o’erflow'd. fi

Enraptured thus with the love of God, and filled with an awful idea of his power, glory, and goodness; the foul, incapable of finding words in common language suitable to its lofty conceptions, and disdaining every thing low and vulgar, was obliged to invent a language intirely new. Tropes and figures were called in to express its sentiments, and the diction was dignified and embellished with metaphors, beautiful descriptions, lively images, fimilies, and whatever else could help to express, with force and grandeur, its passion and surprife : disdaining common thoughts and trivial expressions, it explores all Nature and aspires at all that is sublime and beautiful, in order to approach perfection and beatitude. Nor was this sufficient.The mind dissatisfied with culling only the most noble thoughts, arrayed in forcible and luxuriant terms, and perceiving the sweetness which arose from the melody of birds, called in music to its aid ; when these illustrious thoughts, dignify'd and dress’d with pomp and splendor, were