1

"barous age, to fet off wretched matter and "lame metre; grac'd indeed fince by the ufe "of fome famous modern poets, carried away

by custom, but much to their own vexation, "hindrance, and conftraint to exprefs many "things otherwise, and for the most part worse "than else they would have expreffed them. Not " without cause therefore fome both Italian and Spanish poets of prime note have rejected "rime both in longer and fhorter works, as "have also long fince OUR BEST ENGLISH "TRAGEDIES, as a thing of itself, to all ju"dicious ears, trivial and of no true musical.

delight; which consists only in apt numbers, "fit quantity of fyllables, and the sense variously "drawn out from one verfe into another, not in the jingling found of like endings, a fault "avoided by the learned ancients both in poetry " and

3

3 Oprosoléeula. See Quinctil 1. IX. c. 3. To the fame purpose Mr. Afcham, in his Schoolmafter, p. 194. They wish'd, as Virgil and Horace were not wedded to "follow the faults of former fathers, (a fhrewd marriage

in greater matters) but by right imitation of the perfect "Grecians, had brought poetry to perfectness also in the "Latin tongue; that we Englishmen likewife would ac"knowledge and understand rightfully our rude beggarly ❝riming, brought first into Italy by Goths and Huns, when "all good verfes, and all good learning too were deftroyed de by

" and all good oratory.

This neglect then of

"rime fo little is to be taken for a defect, tho'

64

by them; and after carried into France and Germany, " and at last received into England by men of excellent "wit indeed, but of fmall learning, and lefs judgment in "that behalf. But now when men know the difference, * and have the examples both of the best and of the worst; furely to follow rather the Goths in riming, than the "Greeks in true verfifying, were even to eat acorns with "fwine, when we may freely eat wheat bread among men.' These chiming terminations were fo industriously avoided by Virgil, that in his whole poem 'tis difficult to find one : for in Aen. IX, 634.

Cava tempora ferro

Trajicit. I, verbis virtutem illude fuperbis.

This play on the words is properly enough put in the mouth of young Afcanius. But these verses have no jingle at all:

Hic labor extremus, longar' baec meta viarum.
Cornua velatar' obvertimus antennarum.

Indeed Homer has, here and there, thefe fimilar founds and cadences.

11. έ. 865.

Ι. ύ. 392.

Καύματα, ἐξ ἀνέμοιο δυσαίων ὀρνυμένοιο.
Ὕλλῳ ἐπ ̓ ἰχθυόεντι, καὶ Ἕρμῳ δινήεντι.

But the fcarcity of them in fo long a poem plainly fhews, that Homer thought they added no kind of beauty to his verses. The fame letters repeated fall not under this cen fure; as,

Et premere, et láxas fciret dare jussus habénas.

"it may seem so perhaps to vulgar readers, "that it rather is to be esteemed an example fet, "the first in English, of ancient liberty, reco"vered to heroic poem from the troublesome " and modern bondage of riming." With refspect to the latter part of the cenfure, of making many new and rough words, it may be very juftly obferved, that this liberty, managed with dif cretion and learning, adds a peculiar dignity to the diction for things are often despised for no other reason than being common. Nor are

rough words to be avoided, if the subject be harsh and rough. The musicians and painters can inform us, what effect difcords have in mufic, and fhades in pictures. Even in profpects

4 See what Horace writes to this purpose of coining new words, and of making current the old in his art of poetry, . 406, &c. &c. And Ariftotle in his rhetoric III, 2. fays, that changing our common idiom for foreign and borrowed terms, often gives grace and dignity to a language : τὸ ἐξαλλάξαι ποιεῖ φαίνεσθαι σεμνοτέραν· ὥσπες γὰρ πρὸς τὰς ξένες οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ πρὸς τὰς πολίτας τὸ αὐτὸ πάσχεσι καὶ πρὸς τὴν λέξιν: and in his poetics, Κέφ. κα. Λέξεως δὲ ἀρετὴ * * * σεμνὴ δὲ καὶ ἐξαλλάτισσα τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν, ἡ τοῖς ξενικοῖς κεχρημένη. The words »y and ή fhould change places, and the paffage is thus to be red; c‹μ»ǹ dè, ǹ i§anλάτ]εσα τὸ ἰδιωτικὸν, καὶ τοῖς ξενικοῖς κεχρημένη. That exprefion has grace and dignity, which differs from the common idiom, and uses borrowed terms.

(Nature's

(Nature's landskips) how beautifully do rough rocks and ragged hills fet off the more cultivated fcenes? But however you find fault, in the name of the Mufes keep your hands from the conbe cautious how you pluck up what you may think excrescencies, left with these you tear in pieces the poet himself.

text;

I

Jam parce fepulto,

Parce pias fcelerare manus.

SECT. IV.

T feems no wonder, that the masculine and nervous Shakespeare, and Milton, fhould fo little please our effeminate taft. And the more I confider our ftudies and amufements, the greater is the wonder they should ever please at all. The childish fancy and love of falfe ornaments follow us thro' life; nothing being so displeafing to us, as nature and fimplicity. This admiration of falfe ornaments is visibly seen even in our relish of books. After fuch examples, can we still admire, that rattle of the Muses, a jingling found of like endings tag'd to every line? Whilft we have ftill preferved fome noble. remains of antiquity, and are not entirely void of true genius's among our own nation, what

tast must it, shew, to fly for amusements to the crude productions of an enslaved nation? Yet this is our reigning taft; from hence our lawgivers are taught to form their lives and conduct, with a thorough contempt of ancient learning, and all thofe, whofe inclinations lead them thro' fuch untrodden paths.

But this perhaps will not appear fo furprising, when 'tis confidered, that the more liberal fciences and humane letters, are not the natural growth of these Gothic and northern regions. We are little better than fons and fucceffors of the Goths, ever and anon in danger of relapfing into our original barbarity. And how far the corruption of even our public diversions may contribute to the corruption of our manners, may be an inquiry not unworthy the civil magiftrate: lawgivers' of old did not deem it beneath their care and caution. You may fee what a stress is

Because these may be abused, fome, contrary to all rules of logic, have argued therefore they should entirely be abolished; as if, because my little finger pain'd me, I fhould have my whole arm cut off. Prynne, with the whole tribe of puritans, reafon'd after this manner. 'Tis however a fubject worthy the most serious confideration, how blind zeal and fuperftition on one hand, and open profligacy and contempt of religion on the other, tend equally alike to lead us the fame road of ignorance.