human characters, diverfified by fuch attri butes and manners, as fuperftition, religion, or even wayward fancy, had affigned toeach.

1. The material univerfe, or what the painters call fill life, is the object of that fpecies of poetical imitation, we call descrip tive. This beauteous arrangement of natural objects, which arrefts the attention on all fides, makes a neceffary and forceable impreffion on the human mind. We are fo conftituted, as to have a quick perception of beauty in the forms, combinations, and aspects of things about us; which the philofopher may amuse himself in explaining from remote and infufficient confiderations; but confcioufnefs and common feeling will never fuffer us to doubt of its being entirely natural. Accordingly we may obferve, that it operates univerfally on all men; more efpecially the young and unexperienced; who are not lefs tranfported by the novelty, than beauty of material objects. But its impreffions are strongest on those, whom nature hath touched with a ray of that cele flial fire, which we call true genius. Here the workings of this inftinctive fenfe are fo powerful,,

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powerful, that, to judge from its effects, one should conclude, it perfectly intranced and bore away the mind, as in a fit of ture. Whenever the form of natural beauty prefents itself, though but cafually, to the mind of the poet; bufied it may be, and intent on the investigation of quite other objects; his imagination takes fire, and it is with difficulty that he restrains himself from quitting his proper purfuit, and stopping a while to furvey and delineate the enchanting image. This is the character of what we call a luxuriant fancy, which all the rigour of art can hardly keep down; and we give the highest praise of judgment to those. few, who have been able to difcipline and confine it within due limits.

I infift the more on this ftrong influence of external beauty, because it leads, I think, to a clear view of the fubject before us, fo far as it refpects defcriptive poetry. Thefe living forms are, without any change, prefented to obfervation in every age and country. There needs but opening the eyes, and thefe forms neceffarily imprint themfelves on the fancy; and the love of imitation, which naturally accompanies and keeps pace

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pace with this fenfe of beauty in the poet, is continually urging him to tranflate them into defcription. These descriptions will, indeed, have different degrees of colouring, ac cording to the force of genius in the imita tor; but the outlines are the fame in all; in the weak, faint fketches of an ordinary Gothic defigner, as in the living pictures of Homer.

An inftance will explain my meaning. Amidst all that diverfity of natural objects, which the poet delights to paint, nothing is fo taking to his imagination, as rural Sce nery; which is, always, the first paffion of good poets, and the only one that feems, in any degree, to animate and infpirit bad ones. Now let us take a defcription of fuch a fcene; fuppofe that which Aelian hath left us of the Grecian TEMPE, given from the life and without the heightenings of poetic ornament; and we fhall fee how little the imagination of the most fanciful poets hath ever done towards improving upon it. Aelian's defcription is given in these words.

"The Theffalian TEMPE is a place, "fituate between Olympus and Offa; which

"are mountains of an exceeding great "height; and look, as if they once had "been joined, but were afterwards fepa"rated from each other, by fome god, for "the fake of opening in the midst that

large plain, which stretches in length to "about five miles, and in breadth a hun"dred paces, or, in fome parts, more. "Through the middle of this plain runs "the Peneus, into which several leffer cur"rents empty themselves, and, by the con"fluence of their waters, fwell it into a ri"ver of great fize. This vale is abundant

ly furnished with all manners of arbours "and refting places; not fuch as the arts of "human industry contrive, but which the "bounty of fpontaneous nature, ambitious, "as it were, to make a fhew of all her "beauties, provided for the fupply of this "fair refidence, in the very original struc

ture and formation of the place. For "there is plenty of ivy fhooting forth in it, " which flourishes and grows fo thick, that, "like the generous and leafy vine, it crawls up the trunks of tall trees, and twining "its foliage round their arms and branches, " becomes almoft incorporated with them.

The

"The flowering fmilax [e] alfo is there "in great abundance; which running up "the acclivities of the hills, and spreading "the close texture of its leaves and tendrils "on all fides, perfectly covers and shades "them; fo that no part of the bare rock is feen; but the whole is hung with the ver "dure of a thick, inwoven herbage, prefent

ing, the most agreeable fpectacle to the

eye. Along the level of the plain, there "are frequent tufts of trees, and long conti "nued ranges of arching bowers, affording "the most grateful shelter from the heats of fummer; which are further relieved by the frequent ftreams of clear and fresh "water, continually winding through it. "The tradition goes, that these waters are peculiarly good for bathing, and have "many other medicinal virtues. In the thic

kets and bufhes of this dale are numberless "finging birds, every where fluttering a"bout, whofe warblings take the ear of paffengers, and cheat the labours of their

[e] Botanifts give it the name of oriental bind weed. › It is faid to be a very rambling plant, which climbs up trees, and rifes to a great height in the Levant, where it particularly flourishes, "way