FROM what has been here observed it appears, that Digreffions are by no Means to be allowed of in an Epic: Poem. If the Poet, even in the ordinary Course of his Narration, should speak as little as poffible, he fhould: certainly never let his Narration fleep for the Sake of any Reflections of his own. I have often observed, with a secret Admiration, that the longest Reflection in the Æmeid is in that Paffage of the Tenth Book, where Turnus ‹ is reprefented as dreffing himself in the Spoils of Pallas, whom he had flain. Virgil here lets his Fable stand still for the Sake of the following Remark, How is the Mind of Man ignorant of Futurity, and unable to bear projperous Fortune with Moderation? the Time will come when Turnus all wish that he had left the Body of Pallas un-touched, and curfe the Day on which he dressed himself in thefe Spoils. As the great Event of the Eneid, and the Death of Turnus, whom Æneas flew because he saw him adorned with the Spoils of Pallas, turns upon this Inci- . dent, Virgil went out of his Way to make this Reflection upon it, without which fo fmall a Circumftance might poffibly have flipped out of his Reader's Memory. Lucan, who was an injudicious Poet, lets drop his Story very frequently for the Sake of his unneceffary Digreffions, or his Diverticula, as Scaliger calls them. If he gives us an Account of the Prodigies which preceded the Civil War, he declaims upon the Occafion, and fhews how much happier it would be for Man, if he did not feel his Evil Fortune before it comes to pafs; and fuffer not only by its real Weight, but by the Apprehenfion of it. Milton's Complaint of his Blindnefs, his Panegyrick on Marriage, his Reflections on Adam and Eve's going Naked, of the Angels Eating, and feveral other Paffages in his Poem, are liable to the fame Exception, tho' I must confefs there is fo great a Beauty in thefe very Digreffions, that I would not wish them out of his Posm I have, in a former Paper, fpoken of the Characters of Milton's Paradife Loft, and declared my Opinion, as to the Allegorical Perfons who are introduced in it. If we look into the Sentiments, I think they are fometimes defective under the following Heads; Firft, as there are several of them too much Pointed, and fome that degenerate even into Punns. Of this last Kind I am afraid is that in the First Book, where speaking of the Pigmies,, he calls them, ANOTHER Blemish that appears in fome of his Thoughts, is his frequent Allufion to Heathen Fables, which are not certainly of a Piece with the Divine Subject of which he treats. I do not find fault with these Allufions, where the Poet himself represents them as fabulous, as he does in fome Places, but where he mentions them as Truths and Matters of Fact. The Limits of my Paper will not give me leave to be particular in Instances of this Kind; the Reader will easily remark them in his Perufal of the Poem. A third Fault in his Sentiments, is an unneceffary Oftentation of Learning, which likewise occurs very frequently. It is certain that both Homer and Virgil were Masters of all the Learning of their Times, but it fhews itself in their Works after an indirect and concealed Manner. Milton feems ambitious of letting us know, by his Excurfions on Free-Will and Fredeftination, and his many Glances upon Hiftory, Aftronomy, Geography, and the like, as well as by the Terms and Phrafes he fometimes makes use of, that he was acquainted with the whole Circle of Arts and Sciences. IF, in the last Place, we confider the Language of this great Poet, we must allow what I have hinted in a former Paper, that it is often too much laboured, and fometimes obfcured by old Words, Tranfpofitions, and Foreign Idioms. Seneca's Objection to the Style of a great Author, Riget ejus oratio, nihil in eâ placidum, nihil lene, is what many Criticks make to Milton: As I cannot wholly refute it, fo I have already apologized for it in another Paper: To which I may further add, that Milton's Sentiments and Ideas were fo wonderfully Sublime, that it would have been impoffible for him to have represented them in their full Strength and Beauty, without having. recourse to these Foreign Affiftances. Our Language funk under him, and was unequal to that Greatnefs of Soul, which furnished him with fuch glorious Conceptions. A fe A fecond Fault in his Language is, that he often affects a Kind of Jingle in his Words, as in the following Paffages; and many others: And brought into the World a World of Woe. Befeeching or befieging. This tempted our Attempt At one flight Bound high overleapt all Bound. I know there are Figures for this Kind of Speech, that fome of the greatest Ancients have been guilty of it, and that Ariftotle himself has given it a Place in his Rhetorick among the Beauties of that Art. But as it is in it felf poor and trifling, it is I think at present univerfally exploded by all the Masters of polite Writing. THE laft Fault which I fhall take notice of in Milton's Style, is the frequent Ufe of what the Learned call Technical Words, or Terms of Art. It is one of the great Beauties of Poetry, to make hard Things intelligible, and to deliver what is abftrufe of itself in fuch eafy Language as may be understood by ordinary Readers: Befides that the Knowledge of a Poet fhould rather feem born with him, or infpired, than drawn from Books and Syftems. I have often wondered how Mr. Dryden could tranflate a Paffage out of Virgil after the following Manner. Tack to the Larboard, and fand off to Sea, Milton makes ufe of Larboard in the fame Manner. When he is upon Building, he mentions Doric Pillars, Pilafiers, Cornice, Freeze, Architrave. When he talks of Heavenly Bodies, you meet with Ecliptic and Eccentric, the trepidation, Stars dropping from the Zenith, Rays culminating from the Equator. To which might be added many Inftances of the like Kind in feveral other Arts and Sciences. I shall in my next Papers give an Account of the many particular Beauties in Milton, which would have been too long to infert under thofe general Heads I have already treated of, and with which I intend to conclude this Piece of Criticism. L Monday No. 298. Monday, February II. 6. 6. Nufquam tuta fides. Mr. SPECTATOR, Virg. London, Feb. 9, 1711-12. Am a Virgin, and in no Case despicable; but yet fuch as I am I muft remain, or elfe become, 'tis to be feared, lefs happy: for I find not the leaft good ← Effect from the juft Correction you fome Time fince gave, that too free, that loofer Part of our Sex which fpoils the Men; the fame Connivance at the Vices, the fame eafy Admittance of Addreffes, the fame vitiated Relish of the Converfation of the greatest of Rakes (or in a more fashionable Way of expreffing one's felf, ⚫of fuch as have feen the World moft) ftill abounds, increases, multiplies. 6. THE humble Petition therefore of many of the most ftrictly virtuous, and of myself, is, That you'll once more exert your Authority, and that, according to your late Promife, your full, your impartial Authority, on this fillier Branch of our Kind: For why fhould they be "the uncontroulable Mistresses of our Fate? Why should they with Impunity indulge the Males in Licentiousness whilst fingle, and we have the dismal Hazard and Plague of reforming them when married? Strike home, Sir, then, and fpare not, or all our maiden Hopes, our gilded Hopes of nuptial Felicity are fruftrated, are vanished, and you yourself, as well as Mr. Courtly, will, by fmoothing over immodest Practices with the Glofs of foft and harmlefs Names, for ever forfeit our Efteem. " Nor think that I'm herein more severe than need be: If I have not Reason more than enough, do you and the World judge from this enfuing Account, which, I think, will prove the Evil to be univerfal. 6. You must know then, that fince your Reprehenfion of this Female Degeneracy came out, I've had a Tender of. Refpects from no less than five Perfons, of tolerable ⚫ Figure 6. No. 298. Figure too,asTimes go: But the Misfortune is, that four of the five are profeffed Followers of the Mode. They would face me down, that all Women of good Senfe "ever were, and ever will be, Latitudinarians in Wedlock; and always did, and will, give and take what they profanely term Conjugal Liberty of Confcience. THE two first of them, a Captain and a Merchant, to ftrengthen their Argument, pretend to repeat after a Couple, a Brace of Ladies of Quality and Wit, That Venus was always kind to Mars; and what Soul that has the leaftSpark of Generosity, can deny a Man of Bravery any thing? And how pitiful a Trader that, whom no • Woman but his own Wife will have Correspondence and Dealings with? Thus thefe; whilft the third, the Country Squire confeffed, That indeed he was surprized into good Breeding, and entred into the Knowledge of the World unawares. That dining t'other Day at a Gen⚫tleman's Houfe, the Perfon who entertained was obliged. to leave him with his Wife and Nieces; where they fpoke with fo much Contempt of an absent Gentleman for being flow at a Hint, that he had refolved never to be drowly, unmannerly, or ftupid for the future at a • Friend's Houfe; and on a hunting Morning, not to purfue the Game either with the Hufband abroad, or with the Wife at home. THE next that came was a Tradesman, no less full of the Age than the former; for he had the Gallantry to tell me, that at a late Junket which he was invited to, the Motion being made, and the Queftion being put, 'twas by Maid, Wife and Widow, refolved nemine contradicente, That a young fprightly Journeyman is abfolutely neceffary in their Way of Bufinefs: To which they had the Affent and Concurrence of the Husbands prefent. I dropped him a Curtfy, and gave him to understand that was his Audience of Leave. I am reckoned pretty, and have had very many Ad· vances befides thefe; but have been very averse to hear any of them, from my Obfervation on these above-men⚫tioned, till I hoped fome Good from the Character of my present Admirer, a Clergyman. But I find even amongst them there are indirect Practices in relation to Love,and our Treaty is at prefent a little in Sufpence, till |
